With Halloween and Diwali coming down the pike 性视界传媒 city council has voted to "enhance" enforcement of its fireworks rules in anticipation of the seasonal barrage by substantially increasing fines.
A corporate report that came before council Monday, Oct. 7, co-authored by Fire Chief Larry Thomas and Joey Brar, 性视界传媒's general manager of corporate services, called for steeper fines for discharging fireworks without a permit, and giving police and bylaws enforcement officers more powers "by allowing the issuance of fines that more aptly reflect the severity risks posed to the public."
Council gave third-reading approval to related bylaws.
"I guess nothing lights up our emails more than fireworks season," Coun. Doug Elford remarked. "These things are very powerful, very loud."
Thomas told council that every year 性视界传媒 firefighters respond to between 12 and 20 fireworks-related incidents with about 75 per cent occurring in the last half of October and first two weeks of November. In 2023 the City of 性视界传媒 recorded roughly 500 "interactions" and site visits resulting from fireworks complaints, issuing some 150 tickets.
Elford called this increase in penalties "a boost" that will hopefully create more of a deterrent but added that some fireworks "extravaganzas out there there, I bet you they're paying $100,000 to shoot these things off 鈥� I'm wondering if we should consider even higher fines in the future as a deterrent because it just seems like a cost of doing business now."
As it stands the City's Fireworks Bylaw stipulates that only people with federal certification and a permit from the 性视界传媒 Fire Service are permitted to discharge fireworks and yet the majority investigated by bylaws officers lack these, the report notes, "thereby presenting a safety risk to the public. If not handled properly, fireworks can cause serious injuries including burns, eye injuries, and hearing damage. They can also harm pets and wild animals and lead to the destruction of property."
Thomas and Brar recommended to council that the minimum fine under the Fireworks Bylaw be increased to $400 from $100 and the maximum fine be increased to $50,000 from $5,000 and also Include wording "to clarify that each day an offence is committed under the Fireworks Bylaw constitutes a separate offence. The also asked council to amend the 性视界传媒 Municipal Ticket Information Utlilization Bylaw (aka MTI) to ensure that "all police officers working in 性视界传媒 are empowered to issue MTIs under the Fireworks Bylaw.
Here are the changes council approved under the MTI: Selling fireworks to a person under 18 (current fine $500, proposed $1,000); Possessing by a person under 18 ($250 to $1,000); Selling/disposing/distributing fireworks ($500 to $1,000); Exploding fireworks without a permit ($250 to $1,000); Exploding fireworks without a supervisor certificate ($250 to $1,000); Exploding fireworks in a public place ($250 to $1,000); and exploding fireworks by a person under 18 ($250 to $1,000).
Moreover, fine increases under the 性视界传媒 Bylaw Enforcement Notice Bylaw (BEN) were also approved: Person under 18 possessing fireworks (current fine $250, increase to $450); Exploding fireworks without a permit or a supervisors certificate ($250 to $450); Exploding fireworks in a public place ($250 to $450): and exploding fireworks by a person under 18 ($250 to $450).
How it works is the legal standard of proof to establish a BEN offence is on a balance of probabilities and the standard of proof for an MTI is beyond a reasonable doubt. "Depending on the circumstances, Bylaw Services can issue either a BEN or MTI ticket for fireworks contraventions," the corporate report notes.
Meantime, Coun. Pardeep Kooner remarked that the City should "do something" about auto body shops that modify mufflers, particularly in Newton, "and maybe look at their business licence, that's something that staff could do."
"I know this is not related, but it is related to noise issues," she said. "We get a lot of complaints, especially to the Public Safety Committee about the muffler noises."
Elford agreed: "Yeah, I wake up every morning to my neighbour's loud muffler so I can relate to that."
