Kitchener and Waterloo councils move to ban fireworks sales

CTV’s Alexandra Holyk takes a look at a pair of council meetings to decide the fate of fireworks in Kitchener and Waterloo.

Starting in January, people living in Kitchener and Waterloo will have to look elsewhere to buy fireworks.

On Monday night, both city councils decided to move forward with a ban on fireworks sales, along with additional restrictions and penalties.

Aside from the sales ban, Kitchener council also voted in favour of limiting firework show times to two hours on Victoria Day, Canada Day and Diwali. Anyone found not in compliance with the rules will also have to pay heftier fines.

“People have been hurt and that has supported our recommendation to council for some more restrictive measures to come into play,” said Gloria MacNeil, Kitchener’s bylaw enforcement director.

On Canada Day 2023, two Kitchener bylaw officers were shot at with fireworks.

“We were underprepared,” MacNeil admitted. “One of the individuals was hit in the head and very fortunately was wearing a helmet … the second officer was hit in the knee.”

One year later, Waterloo Ward 7 Councillor Julie Wright was shot at with a roman candle while walking home from a drone show in Waterloo Park.

“I was, in fact, assaulted with a firework and it hit me in the face,” she said. “After you have an experience like this, you realize just how pervasive these issues are.”

The fireworks issue isn’t new. In the last three years, the City of Waterloo received 282 firework-related complaints. During the same time frame, Kitchener received 670 complaints.

But not everyone in Waterloo Region agrees with the sales ban. Last month, the Township of North Dumfries voted against a similar recommendation.

“I don’t think the problem is the sale of the fireworks,” said North Dumfries Mayor Sue Foxton. “And my council, I think, felt the same way. It’s people’s behaviour.”

At the Kitchener council meeting, Mayor Berry Vrbanovic made his case crystal clear, adding he wouldn’t support the sales ban.

“I’m not convinced that simply restricting the sale locally is going to stop that bad behaviour,” he said.

Those who voted in favour of the ban acknowledged it wouldn’t stop people from buying fireworks elsewhere.

“People are permitted to buy them online still,” said MacNeil. “But they’re going to have to plan ahead.

“We’re hoping that this makes it more difficult for people under the age of 18 to get access to fireworks,” she said.

The decision has firework distributor Priyam Vyas flaring.

“The solution they came up with, the ban of sale of fireworks, that’s really not going to solve any issue here,” he told CTV News Tuesday. “What it has done now, responsible vendors like me, they will be out of business.

“This is definitely government overreach,” he added.

Vrbanovic voiced a similar sentiment Monday night.

“If people don’t see a change, then people’s trust of the rule of law and the fundamental systems that our democratic society is based on starts being called into question,” he told council.

In Kitchener, the vote carried 8-3 in favour of the sales ban and additional restrictions. In Waterloo, a formal bylaw is expected to be presented by staff in the near future.

As far as a blanket ban on fireworks sales across Waterloo Region goes, regional councillors said there’s nothing on their radar at this point. However, on a municipal level, many of those in favour of the ban in Kitchener and Waterloo said they hope to see more cities and townships get on board.