Ottawa to increase police patrols in parks on Canada Day after fireworks complaints and fires on Victoria Day
Ottawa police and Bylaw Services officers will increase patrols in parks on Canada Day to stop people from illegally discharging fireworks.
Coun. Riley Brockington asked staff to come up with a plan to address concerns about fireworks use on July 1 after dozens of complaints and issues during the Victoria Day long weekend.
Firefighters responded to calls for eight fires caused by fireworks over the long weekend. There were four grass fires, including a large one in the area of Hunt Club Road and Riverside Drive. Ottawa fire also reported a burning fence, a tree on fire and two instances of flames in garbage cans after people threw out fireworks.
Brockington said there were complaints about the proximity of fireworks to residential housing, the discharge of fireworks in crowds of people and the discharge of fireworks by people under the age of 18.
In a report for the Community and Protective Services Committee, city staff say Ottawa Bylaw received 130 calls for unauthorized discharge of fireworks over the Victoria Day long weekend. Ottawa fire responded to 16 calls related to fireworks, including one for two children suffering burns due to fireworks.
Staff say Bylaw Services officers, with support from Ottawa police, will be deployed to "problematic parks" on Canada Day to enforce park closures and the Fireworks Bylaw.
Parks and beach staff will also provide information and educate patrons on the regulations surrounding fireworks usage on Canada Day.
Under Ottawa's Fireworks Bylaw, individuals can only discharge their fireworks on Victoria Day and Canada Day and the day before and after those days. Fireworks can only be discharged by someone 18 or older, and on private property.
In addition to stepped up police and bylaw patrols in parks, the city will launch a public information campaign about fireworks safety.
City staff plan to develop and disseminate information to fireworks vendors in the Ottawa area about fireworks safety, so vendors can pass on the information to people who purchase fireworks. Ottawa Fire Services and Ottawa Bylaw will make public service announcements on Canada Day outlining safety tips and fireworks regulations, and share safety tips on social media accounts.
In addition to the 130 calls for fireworks complaints over the Victoria Day long weekend, Bylaw Services received 54 calls for unauthorized discharge of fireworks between May 15 and 20.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent 'routine engine maintenance' in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
Families shocked after Niagara Falls hotel cancels bookings made year in advance of solar eclipse
After having the foresight to book their Niagara Falls hotel rooms more than a year in advance, several families planning to take in the solar eclipse next month were shocked to find out their reservations had been cancelled.
B.C. rescuers face 'high likelihood' of failure to reunite orphaned orca with pod
The race to reunite an orphaned orca calf that’s stuck in a shallow lagoon with a neighbouring pod has entered its fifth day, and a marine scientist says the clock is ticking.
Video shows police interrupting auto theft in progress outside Toronto home
New video footage obtained by CP24 shows the attempted theft of a vehicle in a North York driveway earlier this month that was ultimately interrupted by police.
Majority of Canadians believe in life after death: Angus Reid survey
A new survey from the Angus Reid Institute has found that a majority of Canadians believe in some form of life after death, a proportion that has held steady for decades.
MyPillow, owned by U.S. election denier Mike Lindell, formally evicted from Minnesota warehouse
A court ordered the eviction Wednesday of MyPillow from a suburban Minneapolis warehouse that it formerly used.