Pembroke cancels Canada Day fireworks as officials in Ottawa keep an eye on the smoke

Fireworks explode behind the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill during Canada Day celebrations on Wednesday, July 1, 2015 in Ottawa. (Justin Tang / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

Canadian Heritage is planning to proceed with fireworks as part of the Canada Day celebrations at LeBreton Flats, as smoky air continues to blanket Ottawa.

Organizers of all Canada Day fireworks displays are keeping an eye on the smoke forecast ahead of the July 1 holiday.

The Ottawa Fire Service has not raised any concerns about allowing fireworks to proceed from a fire safety perspective, the city said Friday afternoon. In Pembroke, the city has postponed the Canada Day fireworks in Riverside Park due to the fire hazard conditions.

Environment Canada has issued a special air quality statement for Ottawa, warning, "high levels of air pollution due to smoke from forest fires is expected to continue today and possibly into Saturday."

The biggest Canada Day party in Ottawa will be at LeBreton Flats, where tens of thousands of people are expected to watch the fireworks at 10 p.m. Saturday. Canadian Heritage spokesperson Melanie Brault says as of Friday afternoon, they are still going ahead with the fireworks.

"We're continuously monitoring the situation, and if ever we have to make some modifications to our programming, as required by our public health authorities, then we will certainly do that," Brault told Newstalk 580 CFRA's Ottawa at Work with Patricia Boal.

"Health and safety is the most important thing for everybody and so we're going to continue to monitor that situation."

The Ottawa Redblacks and Ottawa Titans are planning to host fireworks displays following Friday night's games.

Fireworks are scheduled for Saturday in Barrhaven, Greely, Beacon Hill, Kanata, Osgoode Village, Petrie Island, Riverside South, Stittsville, the Rideau Carleton Raceway and the Trend Arlington neighbourhood. Council has given the fire chief the authority to order a ban on consumer fireworks due to dry conditions, if needed.

Montreal amusement park La Ronde cancelled its Thursday night fireworks show following a recommendation from public health, while the organizer of Montreal's Canada Day fireworks announced the show would be cancelled on Saturday in "solidarity" with those affected by the fires in northern Quebec.

Ottawa Fire Service has no concerns over fireworks, city says

The city of Ottawa says any decision to postpone or cancel fireworks or events this weekend due to poor air quality is up to the organizers.

"The City would however like to remind residents to check the air quality index before making their plans and take the proper precautions where appropriate," Kim Ayotte, general manager of emergency and protective services, said in a statement to CTV News Ottawa.

Ayotte adds the Ottawa Fire Service does not have any concerns about fireworks displays proceeding from a fire safety perspective, and staff have worked with event organizers to discuss all scenarios. 

"The City has been working diligently with Canada Day event organizers across Ottawa to ensure that they have all the permits and plans required in place to successfully run their events this weekend," Ayotte said.

"Through the process, staff have been working with organizers to ensure they take into consideration all the different factors that could impact their events, which includes the anticipated air quality in our city."

Staff will be available through the weekend to provide information on the air quality to organizations.

Pembroke

The Canada Day fireworks in Riverside Park in Pembroke have been postponed.

The municipality says the fireworks will be postponed, "until such time as fire hazard conditions improve and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry lift the Restricted Fire Zone designation for the Pembroke District."

Redblacks monitoring air quality

The Ottawa Redblacks game against the Edmonton Elks proceeded as scheduled Friday night at TD Place. The Redblacks said the team and league were monitoring the air quality.

"We're keeping an eye on things. We have a couple of calls today with the Elks, the league office, the PA (CFL Players Association) and our club," GM Shawn Burke said. "The reality is we just have to keep an eye on things and go from there.

"What we've seen in both instances with these smoke warnings is they can change very quickly, depending on wind patterns."

Burke tells Newstalk 580 CFRA the club is "praying on the wind Gods to do what they're supposed to do and us being able to have a great game of football for our fan base."

With files from CTV News Montreal's Luca Caruso-Moro