Brampton city council amended a bylaw Monday night to prohibit the sale or use of personal fireworks in the city, effective immediately
On Wednesday, Regional Councillor Dennis Keenan – who represents Wards 3 and 4 in the city – brought forward a motion to amend the fireworks bylaw to ban the sale and use of fireworks, as well as increase the current fines
It was seconded by Regional Councillor Gurpartap Toor of Wards 9 and 10
The motion was passed unanimously and was ratified at a council meeting Monday night
“As promised during my recent electoral campaign, I’m sitting on Brampton City Council to make change – to voice the concerns of our residents, and take action on issues for the betterment of our community,” Keenan said in a news release
Prior to this, residents were only allowed to set off fireworks four times a year on their private properties: on Victoria Day, Canada Day, Diwali and New Year’s Eve
They could also only fire short-range pyrotechnics – that travel less than three metres, roughly the height of a basketball hoop – off their private property for those holidays. Fireworks that fly higher than that are illegal, as is setting them off on public spaces like sidewalks, streets or parks
The new bylaw scraps those four exceptions, making personal firework use illegal at all times
The bylaw also brings higher fines for those who don’t follow the new rules
The fine for setting off fireworks will go from $350 to $500, while the fine for selling them will go from $350 to $1,000
The film industry and city-run events will be excluded from the ban
The bylaw comes weeks after a year-old petition started circulating, looking to restrict fireworks in Brampton and its surrounding areas. As of Monday night, over 10, 000 people had signed it
According to the city, just under 1,500 fireworks-related complaints were made this year, citing excessive noise, fire safety concerns and litter as part of the grievances. In 2018, there were 492
So far this year, Brampton’s By-law and Enforcement team said they issued over $38,000 in fines
With files from CTV News Toronto’s Alex Arsenych
Jordan Fleguel, CP24 Web Content Writer
