Brampton city council amends bylaw to ban sale and use of personal fireworks year-round

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.