City of Burlington Looking for Feedback on Fireworks Bylaw
The Burlington Fire Department wants to hear from residents about possible changes to our City's Fireworks Bylaw. Currently, fireworks displays are allowed in local neighbourhoods on Victoria Day and Canada, as well as the three days leading up to those holidays.How do you feel about fireworks? Let the city know by completing the online survey at getinvolvedburlington.ca/fireworks by Monday, March 2, 2020 at 11:59 p.m. City staff will prepare a report using the public input received and a recommendation will be presented to Committee and Council.The City is looking for feedback on when neighbourhood fireworks should be permitted or if they should be permitted at all.Any changes to the bylaw will not affect professional fireworks displays requiring a permit. Below are the options for consideration:
- No neighbourhood fireworks
- Canada Day only
- Canada Day and Victoria Day only (no change - current bylaw)
- Canada Day, Victoria Day, Diwali, Chinese New Year and any other days for which a permit has been issued by a Chief Fire Official
"We want to ensure that our fireworks bylaw is balanced, respectful and inclusive of all residents. We recognize that neighbourhood firework celebrations may be a joyous experience for some, but may present as noise and nuisance for others. From a fire service perspective, we do not recommend family fireworks or informal neighbourhood displays. Burlington is a wonderful and increasingly diverse City. Our desire is to try and ensure that we develop a reasonable and equitable Fireworks Bylaw for all." — Dave Lazenby, Burlington Fire Chief
For more information on fireworks in the City of Burlington, please visit burlington.ca/fireworks.MY TAKE:Back in October 2019, Council unanimously passed a staff direction to review a potential expansion of permissions related to discharging and selling fireworks to a broader range of religious and culture celebrations. As well, we authorized the Fire Chief to immediately be able to grant exceptions on a case-by-case basis. This staff direction was to recognize that we don’t have a process where the Fire Chief can exercise discretion related to when fireworks can take place. This would allow us to be more responsive when there are community events. This is also about good governance and has been scoped to religious and cultural events. We need to give our Fire Chief the discretion moving forward and he will build the criteria in changing the overall policy.— Mayor Marianne Meed WardRELATED LINK:
--*Posted by John Bkila, Mayor's Media and Digital Communications Specialist