August 15, 2023, at 4:00 PM

Original link

The meeting was called to order at 4:02 PM.

1.   Disclosures of Pecuniary Interest

That it BE NOTED that no pecuniary interests were disclosed.

2.   Consent

Moved by D. Ferreira

Seconded by C. Rahman

That Items 2.1 and 2.2 BE APPROVED.

Motion Passed (4 to 0)

2.1   8th Report of the Animal Welfare Community Advisory Committee

2023-08-03 - AWCAC Report

Moved by D. Ferreira

Seconded by C. Rahman

That the 8th Report of the Animal Welfare Community Advisory Committee, from its meeting held on August 3, 2023, BE RECEIVED.

Motion Passed

2.2   Winter Response Program Outcome Report Year-over-Year Comparison

08-15-2023 - Staff Report (2.3) - Winter Response Program Outcome Year-over-Year Comparison

Moved by D. Ferreira

Seconded by C. Rahman

That, on the recommendation of the Deputy City Manager, Social and Health Development, the staff report, dated August 15, 2023, with respect to the Winter Response Program Outcome Year-Over-Year Comparison, BE RECEIVED. (2023-S08)

Motion Passed

3.   Scheduled Items

3.1   Fireworks By-law Options

2023-08-15 SR Fireworks By-Law Options

That the following actions be taken with respect to Fireworks By-law Options:

a)    the Civic Administration BE DIRECTED to report back at a future meeting of the Community and Protective Services Committee with a proposed by-law to implement Fireworks By-law Update Option A, as outlined in the staff report dated August 15, 2023; and,

b)    the Civic Administration BE DIRECTED to review the Business Licensing By-law with respect to the sale of fireworks and report back on the following:

  •    licensing all retailers of fireworks;

  •    required communications to retailers and clients;

  •    fees; and,

-    potential Administrative Monetary Penalty application and other compliance measures;

it being noted that the Community and Protective Services Committee received communications from the following individuals with respect to this matter:

  •    V.R. Anber;

  •    A. Kanji;

  •    S. Sinnamon;

  •    L. Green;

  •    K. Rhodes;

  •    T. Miller;

  •    M. Robinson;

  •    T. McMullen;

  •    L. Gebhardt;

  •    G. Rhodes;

  •    J. McCall;

  •    K. Godin;

  •    S. Ross;

  •    M. Hulet;

  •    S. Deebrah;

  •    S. Liggett;

  •    B. McClement;

  •    C. Poirier;

  •    K. Patpatia;

  •    S. Alexopoulos;

  •    C. Wilson;

  •    J. First;

  •    N. and S. Tirolese;

  •    M. Luce;

  •    B. Amendola;

  •    B. Samuels;

  •    L. Macklem;

  •    P. Reid;

  •    B. Hampton;

  •    S. Olivastri;

  •    N. Hans;

  •    K. Wood;

  •    D. Devine;

  •    V. Varapravan;

  •    Tatvamasi London;

  •    S. Varapravan;

  •    S. Richards;

  •    S. Crane;

  •    R. St. Pierre;

  •    M. Hertz;

  •    L. Miller;

  •    J. Sayles;

  •    L. Hemming;

  •    J. Tennant;

  •    J. Orchard;

  •    E. Schwob;

  •    D. Prout;

  •    D. Heap and S. Kelly;

  •    C. Kuijpers;

  •    C. Healy;

  •    C. Helka;

  •    Vishwa Hindu Parishad;

  •    Hindu Legacy Group;

  •    G. Mandal;

  •    J. Jacobson;

  •    D. Ronson; and,

  •    D. Fraser;

it being pointed out that the following individuals made verbal presentations at the public participation meeting held in conjunction with this matter:

  •    V.R. Anber;

  •    A. Kanji;

  •    D. Devine;

  •    G. Dendias;

  •    P. Soni;

  •    M. Leff;

  •    L. Macklem;

  •    N. Jadav;

  •    Resident;

  •    J. Tennant;

  •    D. Duquetrelle;

  •    S. Varapravan;

  •    T. Zacharias;

  •    Resident:

  •    V. Patra;

  •    M. Khandekar;

  •    S. Pandeh;

  •    D. Ronson;

  •    L. Miller;

  •    B. McClemet;

  •    D. Sooklem;

  •    M. Charbineau;

  •    T. Golden;

  •    D. Fortney;

-    B. Ramakrishna Acharya;

  •    J. Orchard;

  •    M. Blosh;

  •    R. Patel;

  •    Rick;

  •    J. Robinson;

  •    V. Kothari;

  •    M. Jefbleesh;

  •    I. Gopalakrishnan;

  •    D. Prout;

  •    L. Pelzarri;

  •    S. Sayare;

  •    R. Mills;

  •    S. Twilley;

  •    D. Divariar;

  •    J. Paetz;

  •    M. Borski; and,

  •    B. Amendola. (2023-P01)

Motion Passed

Voting Record:

Moved by C. Rahman

Seconded by J. Pribil

Motion to open the public participation meeting.

Motion Passed (4 to 0)

Moved by D. Ferreira

Seconded by J. Pribil

Motion to close the public participation meeting.

Motion Passed (5 to 0)

Moved by C. Rahman

Seconded by J. Pribil

Motion to approve that the Civic Administration BE DIRECTED to report back at a future meeting of the Community and Protective Services Committee with a proposed by-law to implement Fireworks By-law Option A, as outlined in the staff report dated August 15, 2023.

Moved by E. Peloza

Seconded by C. Rahman

That the motion BE AMENDED by adding the following:

That the Civic Administration BE DIRECTED to review the Business Licensing By-law with respect to the sale of fireworks and report back on the following: licensing all retailers of fireworks, required communications to retailers and clients, fees, Administrative Monetary Penalties and compliance measures.

Motion Passed (4 to 1)

Moved by C. Rahman

Seconded by J. Pribil

That the motion, as amended, BE APPROVED.

Motion Passed (4 to 1)

4.   Items for Direction

4.1   Inter Faith Homes (London) Transition Strategy: Appointment of London-Middlesex Community Housing

2023-08-15 SR Inter Faith Transition Plan

Moved by C. Rahman

Seconded by D. Ferreira

That, on the recommendation of the Deputy City Manager, Planning and Economic Development, the following actions be taken with respect to the staff report, dated August 15, 2023, related to the Inter Faith Homes (London) Transition Strategy and the Appointment of London-Middlesex Community Housing:

a)    the proposed by-law, as appended to the above-noted staff report, BE INTRODUCED at the Municipal Council meeting to be held on August 29, 2023, to:

i)    delegate the Deputy City Manager, Planning and Economic Development, or their written designate, the authority to perform all of the duties and exercise all of the powers of The Corporation of the City of London as service manager under the Housing Services Act, 2011, with respect to designated housing projects and transferred housing programs in accordance with the Housing Services Act, 2011,  and policies and directives issued by the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing applicable to service managers under the Housing Services Act, 2011; and,

ii)    delegate the Deputy City Manager, Planning and Economic Development, or their written designate, the authority to approve and execute agreements necessary to carry out the authority to perform all of the duties and exercise all of the powers of the City as service manager under the Act with respect to designated housing projects and transferred housing programs; it being noted that this delegation of authority does not include the authority to approve exit agreements and services agreements under the Housing Services Act, 2011;

b)    the Deputy City Manager, Planning and Economic Development, or their written designate, BE AUTHORIZED, by Council, as Service Manager, to:

i)    exercise any of the remedies available to the service manager under the Housing Services Act, 2011 in connection with the resignation of the board of directors for Inter Faith Homes (London) or a triggering event under the Housing Services Act, 2011;

ii)    approve and execute any agreements required to exercise any of the remedies available to the service manager under the Housing Services Act, 2011 in connection with the resignation of the board of directors for Inter Faith Homes (London) or a triggering event under the Housing Services Act, 2011; and,

iii)    authorize the appointment of City staff to act as an interim Board of Directors for Inter Faith Homes (London); and,

c)    the Deputy City Manager, Planning and Economic Development, or their written designate, BE AUTHORIZED to undertake all the administrative acts that are required under the Housing Services Act, 2011 in connection with the Inter Faith Homes (London) Transition Strategy. (2023-S14)

Motion Passed (4 to 0)

5.   Deferred Matters/Additional Business

None.

6.   Adjournment

The meeting adjourned at 8:12 PM.

Full Transcript

Transcript provided by Lillian Skinner’s London Council Archive. Note: This is an automated speech-to-text transcript and may contain errors. Speaker names are not identified.

View full transcript (4 hours, 32 minutes)

Good evening, this is the 13th meeting of the Community Temperatures Services Committee. Please check the city website for additional meeting detail information, and meetings can be viewed via live streaming on YouTube and the city website. The city of London is situated on the traditional lands of the Neshnabek, Haudenosaunee, and L’Adabhuak and Adwondron. We honor and respect the history, language and culture, and diverse indigenous people who call this territory home.

The city of London is currently home to many First Nation, Métis, and Inuit today. As representatives of the people of the city of London, we are grateful to have the opportunity to work and live in this territory. For people online and in the various galleries and meeting rooms, Mayor Morgan will be joining us virtually after another meeting he needs to finish up with. I have Councillors Raman, Ferreira, and Perbal in Chambers with me.

This is the members of this committee, though other committee members or other members of council will be joining us in person as virtually as well. The city of London is committed to making every effort to provide alternate formats and communication supports for meetings upon request. To make a request specific to this meeting, please contact CPSC@london.ca or 519-661-2489, extension 2425. I will let two committee members for disclosures of pecuniary interest.

Seeing none, we have two items on our consent agenda being 2.1 and 2.2. Would anyone like anything pulled separate? Seeing none, I’m looking for a mover of 2.1 and 2.2. Moved by Councillor Ferreira, seconded by Councillor Raman.

I will take questions, and I believe Councillor Perbal had a question. Please proceed. Thank you, Chair, and through the chair to the staff. I do have a comment for 2.2 for the winter response program.

First of all, I would like to thank the staff for completing the last three years. I believe that it is really very beneficial for us, especially going forward. And I would like to ask staff, I’m gonna wait, okay. I would like to ask staff for these results to be very much taken under consideration to get rid of the comments we had during the last three, four months when our staff together was the advisory table for the winter gap and for the, sorry, for the winter initiative coming up, really would be considered, because I think these numbers are very beneficial when we make the future plans for this year.

So that’s why I’m asking the staff and the advisory table for the winter initiative to consider these numbers as well as the services. Thank you. Mr. Dickens, would you like an opportunity to respond to this report?

Thank you, Chair, and through you, we’d be happy to, we’ve circulated this report with organizations that are involved in this report, but absolutely, we’d be happy to share this report with the group that’s currently planning some of the extreme weather response, be it extreme cold, flooding, or extreme heat, so that they have some of this information as well. Thank you, no for a lot. Looking for their questions or comments, regards to item 2.1 and 2.2, seeing none, calling the vote. Those in the vote, the motion carries 4-0.

Thank you. We do have a scheduled item tonight, which is the public participation meeting for fireworks. Letting committee know that there is why don’t item for direction following that? Looking to committee to see if you would like to clear up item 4.1 from our schedule before or after.

Councilor ramen. Thank you and through you. Yes, I’d like to take care of 4.1 first, if that’s possible. Looking for a move and a seconder, or to put item 4.1 on the floor, moved by Councilor ramen, seconded by my, okay, Councilor Ferreira.

Looking for any questions or comments from this, or if you’d like a brief staff intro to it, recognizing this is the only property currently held by interfaith homes in London. So looking to committee. Okay, Mr. Felberg, just a brief overview of this item.

Certainly, thank you and to you, Mr. Madam Chair. So this report, the purpose is actually to clarify the city’s role as service manager and delegate the authority to our DCM, so that we can improve the efficiency and expediency as the matters arise over the next number of months. This includes executing most operational and some of the capital improvement agreements that we may have, any proposed development agreements or changes of zoning would actually go through PEC through the appropriate committee.

We’d also be looking to clarify and delegate any necessary board or community housing provider responsibilities under the HSA. And then we’d also be giving authority to appoint staff to the board. We will note that that recommendation is included just for expediency in the event that it’s required, but it’s certainly not our preferred approach at this point. We’d like to work with LMCH on property management and board responsibilities.

If there are any questions, happy to take those at this time. Thank you, looking to committee for questions or if we’re satisfied. No questions on this side, no questions on that side. Calling the vote, posing the vote, the motion carries four to zero.

Thank you, and as we can’t start the public participation meeting before a certain time anyways, that now takes care of that timing, which is wonderful. So this evening on schedule items, we have one item which is our public participation meeting for the fireworks by-law. I will go to Ms. Smith first for a brief overview of what the purpose of this public participation meeting is, and then I will outline the procedure for the public participation meeting to committee and the public.

Thank you, and through the chair, on June 27th, council directed civic administration to hold a public participation meeting in order to receive comments and feedback on proposed changes to the current fireworks by-law. In briefs in that report, civic administration proposed two options for council to consider. Option A would allow for permitted display fireworks to be discharged. In addition, it would also allow for consumer or backyard fireworks to be discharged on candidate day, Victoria Day.

This means that dates prior to our preceding candidate day, which are currently in the by-law would no longer be allowed. And this option A also proposes to allow consumer or backyard fireworks to be discharged on Diwali. Therefore, option A proposes a total of three days annually for consumer or backyard fireworks. Option A would also decrease the number of days allowed to sell fireworks from seven to five days and would also propose an increase to current fines.

The second option, option B, would also allow for permitted display fireworks only to be discharged. This means that this option would ban all consumer and backyard fireworks, ban the sale of consumer fireworks in London and potentially also propose an increase to fines. Currently, the London Fire Department permits about 15 firework displays a year in London. These include such as bans as candidate A, we have many candidate A fireworks celebrations across our city, Victoria Day, Diwali, New Year’s Eve, Chinese New Year, Lambeth Harvest Fest, just to name a few of the 15 or so per year.

So after today, based on council’s direction, civic administration will draft a revised fireworks by-law for consideration at a future community and protective services committee meeting. Depending on the changes made to the current by-law, the revised by-law will also include enhancements to enforcement, the sale of fireworks, and proposed increase to the current fines. It’s intended that a new by-law would be in place in the first quarter of 2024. Thank you.

Thank you for that overview of what brings us today. I’ll also note that, could you just tell us who’s with us as well from the Fire Department? Thank you. So to answer any other questions, I have with me Acting Chief Hayes, right behind me, and I have Deputy Chief Heptich, who is the Deputy Chief of Fire Inspection and Investigation.

So this really falls under his bailiwick and he, along with Mr. Catolic, are the experts in this matter. Thank you for that. Before we get started and actually opening the public motion, we’ll just do this first and I’ll lay out the rules.

A motion to open the public participation meeting moved by Councilor Raman, seconded by Councilor Pribble, calling the question. Closing the vote, the motion carries four to zero. Thank you. I’ll take this opportunity as chair to welcome all those who’ve joined us virtually online in council chambers with us.

I’ll also let committee know that one committee rooms are already full and the other one’s filling up as well. What that means for everyone is there’s no set end time to this meeting and the public participation meeting. So we will need to take breaks for ourselves along the way at some point. But we will be here until everyone who wants to be heard verbally tonight can be heard.

Realizing we’ll rotate between different areas at different times. For the gallery and committee rooms, the protocol is you’re allowed to eat up there, you’re allowed to have a drink, you can come and go as you need, the washrooms are just in the hallway. I’m sorry, the chairs, regardless if you’re in a community room or the gallery are not the most comfortable. I’ve been up there myself before being elected, I recognize that.

Just be asked that you do not cheer or boo based on other people’s comments. Just we don’t want to want to feel intimidated that everyone can have equal access to this space and feel respected. You can ask, have we considered questions or what you might be thinking, but know that we will not stop for council or staff to answer your questions and replies. This is you giving your opinion to us and us considering it.

If tonight you decide you don’t want to speak publicly or you’d rather put your communication in writing, you’re welcomed to email them to cpsc@london.ca and all the feedback from this evening will go into council. So the process of this evening is we hear your comments, your concerns, your ideas. The voting members of this committee as outlined was Councillor Ferrera, myself, Councillor Raman and Councillor Pribble. The mayor has voting rights and he’ll join us later.

We’re also joined in chambers by Councillor Troso, Councillor McAllister and Deputy Mayor Lewis has stepped out for a moment. They can’t vote here, but when it comes to council, everyone on council will have an equal opportunity to vote and raise our concerns there and that is where the final decision will be made. Tonight, committee just makes our recommendation and it will be debated, overturned or upheld at council. So that’s the process, just realizing some people have been with us before and other people, this is a new time and a new experience for you.

Everyone who comes to a mic has up to five minutes. If everyone who’s here speaks, this committee meeting will go on for about five and a half hours tonight, which everyone’s speaking, which as I said, it takes what it takes, but if someone has already said your ideas, you can say I agree with the previous speaker, I support option, whatever, and then add new information or your personal experience of what this means to you as we are listening. On that note, as we are listening, I am also timing you up to your five minutes to make sure that everyone has an equal opportunity for their five minutes and their people don’t get cut off and other people don’t take too much time. Traditionally, at the four and a half minute mark, I will say 30-second warning.

We have heard from people that sometimes that startles you when I’m talking over you and I’ve interrupted you and it could throw you off. So we’ll see if it works tonight. I’ve acquired a bell for this evening. So at your 30-minute, 30-second mark, hopefully that’s less disruptive and less startling.

We’ll see if that works. If not, I will go back to interrupting you and always feeling rude. So we’ll see how that works as it was an idea of how to improve and do better, welcome in the public. I don’t believe I forgot anything, is that?

Okay, and as I said at some points, we will need to take a break ourselves to do intake and output and just refresh. So with that, we had two people who registered for our last committee cycle. They have joined us one in person, one on Zoom. So if VR Anbar is in person, perfect.

Thank you, I see you. And recognizing we have IT who needs to go to different mics at different times, the two people who registered first, as they did still, like a month ago, they will speak first and will be timed. And then I will tell you how I’m rotating between chambers and online. And just for your information, there are four mics in the gallery, which everyone’s easiest for you to get to.

There’s two up top and two down below. So welcome and please proceed, you have up to five minutes. Thank you. So for technology, it’s the top corner.

Hello, Mayor Morgan, Councillor Palosa and committee members. My name’s Victor Amber, I operate K&H Fireworks. I’ve been in business for 35 years and I’ve been involved with London retailers for almost 30. I’m here to speak in the favor of option A, allowing for the use of consumer fireworks.

There are four vendors combined in this city that have over 100 years of history selling consumer fireworks in London. We operate legally, safely and responsibly. We have city permits, insurance, and are inspected by London Fire. They and others are not the fly by night, drop a container and sell to everyone and anyone, vendors.

They are depicted in many of the submissions today’s meeting. We respect the city of London, we educate our customers and we follow federal and municipal rules. We hand out London Fire flyers and we hand out a be a good neighbor flyer, all in an attempt to educate the public. As a company, I sell to independent city license stores who two times a year see a surge in their sales figures and selling this federally regulated legal product.

They’re all made aware of the rules and regulations. Consumer fireworks sold in Canada are regulated by the federal government. Every single product sold is tested in the federal laboratory surl and they’re tested on components in composition and to ensure their safety before they enter the market. The problem really started with COVID and resulting from lockdowns.

People were forced to stay home, they could not gather. It seems that some to entertain themselves with backyard fireworks, they were easily found accessible online. The complaints skyrocket, excuse that pun. People were at their wits end during the awful time and some chose to pass the time in their backyards with fireworks and others were disturbed by it.

It would be interesting to know the complaint numbers from 2020, 2021 to compare to 2022 and 2023. People are back out in a boat in the public, shows they’re back in, they’re not confined to their backyards. Maybe a pause in consideration of the enormity of the effect of COVID on this particular issue would be a logical place to start. Fireworks displays in the city of London alone in Canada today have an audience of well over 70,000 people, direct attendance.

These tens of thousands of Londoners have voted with their presence. The petition was submitted in support of consumer fireworks with 680 signatures. That was collected in five days in July. They’re taken in person, only one signature per person from persons who will be directly affected by your decision.

The Canadian fireworks industry is hard at work, researching, developing greener fireworks. It’s a constant. We have long worked on reducing plastics as much as now done with paper and cardboard. In our industry purchases carbon offsets as well, as plants, trees to reduce that.

There’s a long, long history of families coming together to celebrate Victoria Day and Canada Day with the gathering, barbecue, and fireworks. The Wally celebrations, too, have become a regular integral part of London life. The injury and accident stories given are drawn from US news where their consumer fireworks is far different than what’s legal in Canada or available. Our regulations are much more stringent.

I could give thousands of personal stories that would give speak to thousands of people using fire which is zero incidents or accidents. I’m asking you to consider these facts, these arguments, and to reflect on the economic impact in this decision. We are in business that employ a large number of people during the traditional firework seasons. We are legal operators who are asking for enforcement in current regulations and education allowing to continue the use of legal product enjoyed by so many.

Please remember, the tens of thousands who are not here today, who may not have voted online or submitted letters, but who every year, twice a year, vote with their joy in purchasing fireworks. Your decision tonight affects not just a few here, but these tens of thousands from whom I speak. Thank you, and if you have any questions, I’ll be more than happy to answer them. Thank you.

I will note that we do not take questions direct to the gallery, but we do have your communication and we can find you if someone wants to follow up directly. So we will be able to find you just if you know that. So thank you for that. Our next speaker tonight is joining us on Zoom, who would also want to speak at the last meeting.

So I will ask our IT to allow ACANG to come on screen for members of committee. If you toggle your screen so you can see what’s up behind us instead of straining yourself. Welcome to committee, and you have up to five minutes. Please proceed.

Thank you, good afternoon, Madam Chair, members of council and Mayor Morgan, if you’re joining us, my name is Aleem Kanji, and I’m the Chief Advocacy Officer of the Canadian National Fireworks Association, where I represent our 3,000 members, including five companies right here in London, as well as 55 small businesses in the city, where we advocate to governments across the country and work with industry and the public sector partners as a leading voice on the very federally regulated and legally permissible fireworks industry. We are certainly pleased to see over half of all Londoners concur and support option A, as we do for use of fireworks on a total of three days out of 365 days in a calendar year. As it is, fireworks are restricted on the other 362 days for consumer use. As it relates to fireworks sales while we support option A, it is important to keep in mind that your residents will be purchasing fireworks outside of the five days prior to an allowed event from retailers outside of London’s municipal boundaries, or simply purchase online and have one of 4,000 federally tested and Ontario Fire Code approved, fireworks delivered right through their door.

They can also visit the First Nations Chippewa and Oneida groups, obviously located close to London. The report before you today proposes a ban on the sale and use of fireworks as detailed in option B. By doing so, as elected and public officials, you are willingly creating an unsafe environment by allowing an underground marketplace from a very legal and highly regulated market to be displaced. London residents will continue to seek out fireworks in other cities or online delivered to their door to celebrate their special events or other religious or cultural celebrations.

Moreover, given federal rules from the explosives and regulatory division at the government of Canada that govern fireworks, you would in fact be in contravention of federal legislation that allows for the sale and use of fireworks. As well, as the chief knows, the Ontario Fire Code governed by the Government of Ontario also allows for the same. This would mean that option B, in fact, breaks existing statutes and laws in place governed by the province and federal government, which could potentially open up legal challenges by your residents and businesses to the city, lawsuits of which would be paid for by London taxpayers. The challenge of your bylaw officers to enforce a ban as suggested option B will be immense.

As the bylaw will arrive, officers will arrive on the scene while after fireworks are used and it will be impossible to ascertain who used a firework and if a citation is actually approved and issued. For those that issue citations, you should expect your court system to get filled up with appeals requesting evidence that cannot be proven about who ignited the firework. Residents in support of a ban will be questioning why this was approved without any real enforcement capability. Now, I know there are members from the very large and visible South Asian and Asian community with you tonight.

It is important to recognize these residents and welcome the cultural and religious observances they bring. Diwali, for those that may not know, was a celebration of light over darkness celebrated by a billion people. Lunar New Year is the largest holiday on planet Earth, celebrated by 1.5 billion. Both worshipers in both faiths believe fire works and fire sounds can dispel bad luck and scare away evil spirits.

These traditions and religious observances have included fireworks for centuries. Taking that right away by supporting off should be would be hurtful to London’s over 25,000 South Asian and Asian communities. Banning fireworks use is telling these immigrants and cultural communities that their identity, traditions and customs are not welcomed or tolerated in your city. Indeed, it is in the best interest of your municipality to regulate and license the use and sale of fireworks.

We stand ready to work with city officials to fire chief Andrew City to support regs as we do in cities across the country. To be clear, option B, banning fireworks use and sale simply will not work. And based on our work in cities across the country, education is a solution. The CNFA’s vendor certification and employee training program is available to your staff and your community at no cost.

We are proud to launch it at the association. Our courses have been used by hundreds of people across the country over the past few months and we would be happy to work with staff to build this in for London. Using fireworks responsibly and safely is something the CNFA and its members firmly believe in. In fact, we are proud to have launched our be a good neighbor program.

I’ll show it to you right here. 30 second morning. It reminds people of the essential fireworks safety rules under the key banners and is actually born out of the federal regulations. They are to be safe, prepare ahead of time and form your neighbors, respect those around you, celebrate responsibility and clean up.

It is a guide that is required to actually be included on the purchase of sale of every fireworks consumer sale and we are happy to modify that to any community. On behalf of London’s 60 businesses that sell fireworks, employ hundreds in your committee as well as the hundreds of thousands that enjoy fireworks in London, we ask that you support Option A in front of you tonight. As they have— Thank you, that concludes your five minutes. I’d be happy to take your questions.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you. I’ll also note as well that we’re not doing it back and forth with questions, but we do have your contact information and anyone on Council can follow up with you and thank you for joining us at the prior committee meeting and this one, it was appreciated. Thank you.

Thank you Madam Chair, members of Council. At this point, I’m going to ask anyone in the gallery, like I said, no rush ‘cause we’re gonna be here for a while, that if you’re interested to start making your way to Mike and I’m gonna start rotating between, we have a few more guests online but I’ll start rotating back and forth. So to our IT, I’m gonna take this lady in the front first and then I’m going to be going to George who’s gonna be joining us online. So George, you’ll be in queue next after our next speaker in person.

Please proceed and welcome. Thank you. Good evening, Council. Many of my fellow advocates— Sorry, could you step a little bit closer to the mic or be a lot of aggressive?

Sorry, sorry, I’m a little short, so. That’s okay. Good evening, Council. Tonight, many of my Council and my advocates will be speaking to you about the concerns connected to fireworks and important facts about people who suffer mental issues such as PTSD and animals suffering anxiety, as well as the negative effects on our environment.

All strong and important reasons why London should both ban public sale and use of fireworks as well as invest in reusable people, animal and environmentally friendly options for city-provided displays. I, however, would like to speak to the overall cost. My research has shown that the average main event fireworks display runs an average cost of $500 to $1,000, not per event or per hour, but per minute. Typically, London finds a 30-minute display that costs a minimum of $15 to $30,000 per show at an average of two shows per year.

That’s a spending of $30 to $60,000 per year spent for one hour of what is entertainment to some and life-shattering to many others. I propose to Council that, starting in 2024, London uses what would typically be spent on damaging fireworks to invest in purchasing the necessary equipment and software to provide more sustainable people and animal and environmentally friendly forms of light shows. Admittedly, this may take multiple years of investing these funds to obtain the ultimate amount of equipment, but as our public and environmental safety, not more and not important enough to consider smaller displays for a few years while the equipment is being purchased. Once all the equipment is obtained, the annual cost for city-provided light shows will be limited to maintenance and program fees for each show.

This will not only allow London to hold light shows for typical fireworks celebrations such as Canada Day, but also for local events such as Ribfest, Sunfest, Diwali, and so much more. At less than the current annual cost of fireworks, the money that is saved each year for these investments can then be used for more important issues such as the need for RGI, supportive housing, mental health and addiction services, and so much more. In respect to vendors, we appreciate their attempts to make this long-lived celebration safe and fun event. But fact is, many citizens have zero concern for bylaws and choose to set off fireworks at times, not legally allowed, and none of the safety measures and information is provided changes.

The negative impact they have on people with PTSD and other mental health issues and animals, both in our homes and in the environment, as well as the environmental impact. I must ask our vendors’ rights to sell these products more important than the mental health and suffering of citizens and the harm these products cause for our environment. And we do not wish to withhold any cultural rights. We just wish that these region religious and cultural events be required to obtain proper permits to use these products to celebrate their heritage and belief.

I also urge council to choose option B as I support my fellow advocates in their request to have London follow the example recently set by Woodstock and ban the public sale and use of fireworks, starting in 2024, thereby allowing retailers to sell off the current existing stock. Thank you for your time. Thank you, before you escape, can I just have you state as my apologies? That’s okay.

You did wonderful. You’re first and last name. Oh, I’m sorry. No, I didn’t ask, so that’s on me.

I’m Diane Devine, with one end. Thank you so much, Diane. Looking to see if George online is cute up and ready to go, George Dendius, perfect. Good evening, welcome from, and you have up to five minutes to say what you wish.

Bet you’re muted. You need to unmute yourself, and then I will start your clock. Perfect. Thank you, I apologize to both of that.

Have you considered, I’ll be very short and to the point here, ‘cause when I saw this fireworks by law, potential change, I considered myself and I’d like you to consider as well. Why we would consider fireworks to be hazardous for 362 or 363 days a year, and forbidden from use. Yet for two days or three days, we say go ahead and use them in your backyard, your front yards, wherever you want. I’m not talking about the license fireworks displays.

I’m talking about the unlicensed residential ones. That to me would be like saying to folks for two or three days a year, you can drive without buckling up. It just doesn’t make sense to me. And because it doesn’t make sense to me, I’d like the fireworks by law to be a little bit more consistent.

If it’s hazardous for 362 or 363 days a year, the people, pets, property, environment, it’s hazardous on the two or three days that you guys, or we guys, the community has allowed it to happen. So I’d like you to consider option B, which would be what I would side with with respect to my vote. And that’s really all I have to say. Thank you for joining us and for your conciseness.

I will go to the gallery at this microphone first. And then if there’s anybody at this one, I will go to this one next. And then I will go thirdly to Nitin Jadava online. We’ll be third.

Please proceed with your five minutes. Okay, Madam Chair, council members, thank you for this opportunity to speak. My name, first of all, Namaste. My name is Parash Soni.

I’m the executive director of an advocacy group called Hindu Legacy. And it has members of up to 10 Hindu groups in London. And over here, we have represented, as you can see, most of the overflow rooms. And I’m really grateful for this, that our community has come in great numbers to make a point.

We represent as a community here more than 10,000 Hindus of London. Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists. And this issue affects all of those communities. So our position is very clearly option A, and we urge you to vote in that same direction.

You have in your possession, as part of our submission, you also have a petition that was signed by 900, now probably close to 1,000 members of the community in just six days. This just goes to show that generally a community that is very quiet and hardly seen or heard is very passionate about this. The poll that you had from the city was at 22%. And within three to four days, that went up to 53% before it was closed.

So you can see the rally that this community had to say. And they have something very important to say about this. Now, why is this important? I’m not going to explain what was wonderfully explained by Victor and his colleague about what we are doing for Diwali.

Now, many of you may think Diwali firecrackers are a party gig or something that we do just to have some fun. I want to make sure we educate the people here and all of London that fireworks are an integral part of our religious activity. So when it comes to fireworks, Diwali is about Puja. So we do the offerings, we do the prayers, we have lots of good food and fireworks.

So fireworks are the grand finale of every family celebration. And I’m talking about family celebration here. And let me explain what does that typically entail and Victor and other people can give data about this. A family celebration typically is about sparklers, about spinning wheels, about fountains.

And it typically lasts no more than 15 or 20 minutes because most people don’t want to spend $400 on that. So that is what extent we are talking about. Now, Diwali is a tradition that is 800 years old. So fireworks is in our DNA.

And anywhere in the world will tell you, how can you have fireworks? How can you add the value without fireworks? It’s like having Christmas without a Christmas tree. It’s like having dessert without sugar.

So it is so integral that I cannot understand myself how this can be part, not be part of that. And I mean at the family level, not the commercial ones that we see. The reason why we are here is some data points have been brought up against the use of personal fireworks. And I’d like to address these objectively.

So we did a study on the air pollution concern. And Victor actually has a tool where you can go and actually type in this data and get live data. For five years, 2019 to 2023, we did a study on AQI, which is the air quality index. For July and December, Canada Day, I’m sorry, July and November, Diwali.

Interestingly enough, there is absolutely no worsening of the AQI during these months. We also compared them to the other months just to make sure we have a balanced approach. And there is no change. In fact, here’s the interesting part, intraday changes happened during July and November.

Guess when, 6 p.m., guess why, traffic. So if we are talking about environmental concerns and I’m 100% with you, we do have an, the earth is dying. We have a problem that’s much bigger. And our cars, our backyard fire pits, are contributing a heck of a lot more than what fire pits are doing.

Sorry, personal fireworks are doing. On the, on the issue of noise pollution, we are searching for objective data on the city’s website and whatever, and whatever we can find it. And right now, to date, we have not found objective data that says Diwali is a contributor to noise pollution. We are open to this.

Thank you for that bell. And effects on pets and animals. In those probably like, like any other religion, we value life, we value pets, we value human beings. And we have no intention through our fireworks to hurt animals in any way.

In this I’ve been here for more than 30, 40 years in London, and we have been a contributing number, and you’ve never heard Hindus demand anything. And today is a little different. Today, taking fireworks out of Diwali is taking it out of our DNA. And this is why, just so that we don’t get branded as a city that impinges on our minority’s religious freedoms, we urge the council and the city to vote in favor of option A.

Thank you very much, Namaste. Thank you, I will note that the city clerk does have your petition on file that contains 920 individual signatures, and your correspondence is contained within today’s package on page 123. So thank you, and we do that information. I will go to the gentleman at this microphone.

Please proceed, you have up to five minutes. Hi everyone, I’m Michael F. with Bob’s fireworks. A lot of my points have been covered already, so just bear with me, and I’ll try not to repeat.

If you can go a little bit closer than Mike, it makes— Thank you. It’s Michael F. with Bob’s fireworks. A lot of my points have been covered already, so just bear with me all trying not to repeat anything.

I just wanted to go back to my memory of this when the noise on this first really started about trying to ban fireworks. I remember reading a lady on a Facebook page getting people all riled up about, don’t worry about it, there’s no economic consequences, there’s no retailers that rely solely on the sale of fireworks for their income. So I wanna make sure that it’s super clear that that is not true at all. So Bob has been running Bob’s fireworks for almost 60 years now, and it is his main source of income.

And we have fire, we have customers who are third, even fourth generation customers that are still coming to us to buy their displays. And the big theme with our customers is gathering. So they’re getting together with their friends, their family, their neighbors to put on a show together. COVID was really hard on people, so the opportunity to be able to continue to sell and light fireworks safely as we do in promote is critical, I think, to the city’s culture and fabric altogether across all of the cultures and the communities that are out there.

I would just speak to really, really, I’ll just touch on like the light shows really quick. They’re great, but it’s not fireworks. It’s like you’re trying to compare like baloney to a steak or like a bicycle to a motorcycle. Like it’s like, why don’t you just stop riding your motorcycle, it’s loud, you should ride a bicycle.

Like it’s not the same thing, sure, they might wanna go ride a bicycle, but they still wanna be able to ride their motorcycle. So that’s not really, even talking about that, I don’t think it’s a viable alternative, although light shows are cool, sure. Talking about environmental consequences or social consequences, I understand there’s people with some people, it could be traumatic in the one way. For a couple of days of the year, I would say for the people who rely on tradition, having their families together, it’s traumatic the other way.

When you look at what COVID did and really segregating people, we really need fireworks as part of the community to bring people together, because nothing really does it like that. For our conclude, I’ll just talk really quick just about Bob’s fireworks and what we’ve done for the community over the last 60 years. So decades ago, Bob raised, I remember when I was a kid, raising tens of thousands of dollars for the children’s miracle network through that business. The way we’ve continued that to this day is through the Marjorie Wheeler Left Foundation that we run through the London Community Foundation.

Bob matches $20,000 in donations that come into that foundation every single year, and that money is used to support local causes. That’s why we founded the foundation back in 2018. So the business is really built around giving back to the community, and that’s really what we stand for in addition to working with our customers for gathering and to get together and to celebrate. So in summary, support option A, and hope you guys will vote that way.

Thank you. Thank you, and thank you for coming out, and I do apologize for not calling you back. That’s okay, everyone needs to be— I own it though, I own it, yes. I also have a concussion recovering from.

So if I don’t look up all the time at you, I do see you, but I do listen, but our lights in here are very bright, and we don’t turn them down. To technology, I would like to hear from Nitin Jadva, that’s joining us virtually. Nitin Jadva, if you wanna turn on your camera for we know that you’re there, and we can put you on screen. Okay, I’m gonna assume they wandered away from the computer for a moment.

We’re gonna go up the top in the, oh, we’re here. If you wanna unmute yourself and proceed, we can’t hear you, you’re muted, don’t mute it, look very happy and pleasant, but we cannot hear you. No, we still can’t hear you. So I’m going to give you a moment to figure out where the unmute button is on the technology that you’re using, and I’m gonna go to one person in the gallery, and then I will come back to you, and we’ll see if we can get your audio going then.

To the gallery, please proceed, you have up to five minutes. Hi, my name’s Lisa Mackleam, and I wanna thank the committee for hearing our voices, and I want to ask the committee to vote for option B. I’m not gonna address the plentiful statistics that we’ve heard, I know they’re before the council, I wanna speak more personally, and maybe do some recent comments as well. My own response to fireworks is very much like PTSD, I have very sensitive hearing, and it basically causes a panic attack.

If you’ve ever had a panic attack, you know they’re not pleasant. If you haven’t had one, I’m really happy for you because they’re not pleasant. They don’t just impact me for one or two days a year, they cause me to lose sleep, they’re cumulative, they get worse, the more I have them. I’ve lived in London for 20 years, I pay taxes in word seven, and it costs me money when I can’t go to work, the next day because I can’t sleep, okay?

Many of our members are not here today because they have social anxiety, and that’s why they were not able to be here. I should be able to expect quiet possession of my home, which I can’t. I also wanna talk about my dog, a fellow who I lost many years ago, but he was always good with thunderstorms, so like today’s weather wouldn’t have affected him at all, but fireworks, oh my goodness. And because I have sensitive hearing, I know it’s a high-pitched wine just before they go off, that really gets to animals and drives them nuts.

I have 50 years plus riding, showing, and training horses. I currently have a horse named Samba. He’s a bit high-strong, I admit it. He lives right next door to a firing range, doesn’t cause him any problem at all.

I might jump with the noise, he never does. Fireworks, if he was not in his stall when those fireworks went off, he would hurt himself badly. As it is, he’ll run around his stall and sometimes injure himself. Who do I call for enforcement?

I would call the fire department, okay? They are overtaxed. There isn’t a live number that I can call after 6 p.m. They don’t have time to track these people down, and how are they supposed to when a lot of them are hiding it or they stop?

As for meeting my neighbors, this is not the way I wanna meet my neighbors, with them physically assaulting me, okay? During the pandemic, I agree, this is what started a lot of the bad behavior, okay? It would go on for three to five days in my neighborhood. It would start at 6 p.m.

and go to 4 a.m. in the morning. I felt like I was in a war zone. These were not friendly gatherings.

I went for a walk one night with my husband thinking, well, if we can’t beat ‘em, let’s join ‘em. It’s not like we don’t enjoy a good fireworks display, when we know what’s gonna happen, and we’re prepared for it. We went walking around our neighborhood. There are several public parks.

This was like something out of the purge. I’m not even kidding you. There were fights, it was terrible, okay? And they were going off all around us.

I was not comfortable walking into those parks or even walking by them. We got home as quickly as we possibly could. Where I’d like to meet my neighbors is in the community garden that was just planted in the park by our house. That’s a great way to give back to the environment, to meet your neighbors, to help neighbors who may be struggling financially to feed themselves.

And wouldn’t it be really horrible if one of those illegal fireworks displays was to go off and destroy one of those gardens, okay? I absolutely would support extending permits to Diwali. I love Diwali, okay? I visit India very regularly.

But I will ask the committee to vote for option B, perhaps with that addendum. But I really hope that in the future, we can follow the lead of cities like Woodstock and move towards no fireworks, or at least a ban on the public sale of fireworks. Thank you very much. Thank you, and thank you for recognizing those for uncomfortable and having anxiety and can’t be with us.

Once again, anyone who’s not here who feels comfortable and wants to still do so can send us an email and we’ll go public for council’s consideration. So we’re gonna go back on screen to see if the muting problem has been fixed. Okay, sorry. I have issues with my audio, and he supports option A.

So thank you for that. You’ve been heard, and thank you for joining us, and for finding a creative solution. Have a wonderful evening, and we’ve noted option A is your preference. Going up into the gallery to the lower mic on that side.

Please proceed and welcome. Thank you. Good evening, everyone. Honorable Mayor and council members.

My name is Herman Jotkar. I’m here to represent, not represent, but I’m here to speak on behalf of all the parents. I as a mother have not celebrated the valley with my son from last seven years since I’m living in London, Ontario, where backyard fireworks are not allowed on the valley. It is a very important cultural festival for all the parents who want to educate their kids, celebrate with them, and it’s not that we don’t tell our kids like how you cannot do this, but we educate them how to use fireworks safely.

We use all the protective measures to tell them, like this is how fireworks works. And we would love to celebrate the valley of very important festival with our kids. We would love to tell them this is our festival. This is how we celebrate.

That’s all I want to say, and I support option A. Thank you. Thank you for being with us tonight and having your voice heard. I’m going to go back up into the gallery to the lower mic and then to the upper mic.

Yes, good evening, Madam Chair. Can you hear me? Yeah, if you just state your name, that would be perfect. Yes, my name is Jeff Tennant, so I’ve been Jeff Tennant.

I’ll say it slowly, so it can be heard more clearly, you know. So I’ve been living in London for 31 years and the past 22 of those years I’ve been living in Old North and the setting off of fireworks outside of permitted times is a real problem in Old North London and probably in other areas of Ward 6. And my family during this time has experienced the negative effects of consumer fireworks on numerous occasions. You know, these effects include disruptions to our sleep caused by fireworks set off outside the times that are permitted by the bylaw and also our dog, the late salsa, may she rest in peace, who would whenever these fireworks went off, would flee under the bed, run down to the basement, get stuck under the bed.

I can really, you know, the comments of a previous speaker really resonated with me and it’s not just domestic animals, but animals, you know, in the wild as well. And, you know, I claim no specific expertise on the effects on animals, on the effects on the environment, but what I do know is they’re very well documented. What other speakers said as well about fireworks as a way of getting together, actually fireworks do create a very tense situation between neighbors. There’s no easy way to tell a neighbor at midnight who is setting off explosives a few meters from your house that, you know, sorry, could you please stop doing that?

It’s hard to do that and maintain good neighborly relations. However, diplomatic one tries to be. I do vividly recall an incident that took place during candidate neighborhood fireworks at the corner of St. James and Helmuth back in the late 2000s.

I can’t recall which year it was and it might have been at a time when permits were not required for those sorts of activities, but these were set off by people who were clearly not qualified to set off these explosives and a piece of burning, you know, burning explosive device flew right at the crowd with adults and kids. Fortunately, no one was hurt, but a lot of us had to run for cover. And I hope the committee will be swayed by the arguments of the man who spoke in such concise and eloquent terms early. You know, how could we drive on any side of the 401 we want?

You know, three days a year, but have to follow the Highway Traffic Act 362 days a year. I think the analogy to, you know, to any element of the Highway Traffic Act is very apt from the standpoint of safety. So this was an example, fortunately no one was hurt, but it was a good reminder of how dangerous these explosives can be. And my partner, Susann, is keenly aware of the danger.

She witnessed the aftermath of a fatal fireworks accident in Spain in the 1980s. She can tell you it was not a pretty sight. And you look at the documentation of the number of fireworks accidents and the problems they caused. So in addition to the personal experience of noise problems, threats to safety, I’m aware of lots of other harms caused by consumer fireworks, environmental impacts, trauma inflicted on people with PTSD as previous speakers have addressed on birds, animals, both domestic and in the wild.

So I’m sure others addressing this meeting this evening will provide further detail of those, but I am aware that these harms are very well documented. So there are many alternatives to consumer fireworks that allow families, groups of friends to get together to celebrate religious and secular occasions or just good times together. We don’t need the use of these dangerous explosives to get together, have a good time and to acknowledge traditions and important occasions. So I strongly urge members of the committee and council to vote for option B of the proposed fireworks by law to ban the sale and use of commercial fireworks.

And thanks very much for hearing my concerns this evening. Thank you for joining us. Condolences on the lost of your beloved pet. And I will note that your communication is received and is found on page 111.

I will go to the top gentleman in red, please proceed. Good evening, councillors and mayor. My name is Dean DiPietro. I’m a retired vet of 26 years in the Canadian Armed Forces.

I do have PTSD and I do support option A. I’ve been around a lot of explosives in my life and fireworks are for me, it’s like a calm. If you don’t know it’s coming, you’re going to obviously people will hide. And I can vouch for neighbors and pets and stuff like that.

If you don’t know something’s coming, you will be scared. It’s no worse than having the tuner vehicles outside driving up and down the roads and with their engines hanging here, I’m here, the dirt bikes, all that stuff in town, which is constant. What I’d like to bring up with the city bylaws and I can guarantee these bylaws which are in London are a generic bylaw across the board. It doesn’t matter if you’re living here in London.

Petawah, Ottawa, they’re generic. In here, obviously we need to modify them. I live in Westminster, great community and we all know, yes, it bothers the economy as well. Fireworks going off at whenever they’re not supposed to be doing it, yes, that is a concern.

But the majority of the population do respect the bylaws if they do know about it, okay. Last year I decided to do something for the community as a licensed pyrotechnician, which I’ve been doing for 18 years. When I moved to London 10 years ago, being transferred from Petawah, I said I gotta find someone to do fireworks displays. And I accidentally ran into Victor and I’ve been doing shows for him for the past nine years within downtown, summer side, firing all the communities that get together for the one time show or twice a year or whatever it is.

It’s a community based event. Last year I went to all the neighbors. I sat with Westminster Community Group up on Osgood Drive and I approached them about what I wanted to do as a community, flyers were made. We went around the community, donations were raised.

I went and got the permits, the insurance, everything else fell on me. There were 800 people that showed up in the park at Nicholas Wilson Park that supported the fireworks. Instead of having, oh, okay fireworks on this day and people are blowing them off three or four days prior, we decided to do it once. And people were very receptive to it.

The only flaw with getting the permit, which is not in here, was the process, which took the city 21 days to try and figure out who was gonna sign for the park. I went down to the fire hall. I said here’s my shooting area, here’s everything required, everything that was listed for the pyrotechnics that was gonna be used, which was all consumer, was a 25 minute show with all the donation raised. The concern was, oh, did you get the letter from the city to use the park?

Doesn’t state that in the by-law. One of the, I can’t remember his name, said, oh, you gotta contact the city, you have to create an event. I created an event on what was gonna happen. I got a phone call, they could not find anywhere in the documentation in the by-laws who was gonna be the signing authority for the permission for the park.

I went to City Plaza, they didn’t know. I came down here after I got everything all in order, and everybody I’d spoke to, they were all on email. It took 21 days for the city to figure that out. When the city hires a contractor to do the shows, the permission’s already given.

All they have to provide is the insurance. But thank you for your time, and option A, thank you. Thank you for that, and your comments on an opportunity for process improvement, his staff is always listening and looking to make things more accessible and less red-taping government-y. Thank you.

I will go to the microphone here, and then we’re gonna look for Tom Zacharias on virtual. Please proceed, and welcome. Namaste, can you hear me okay? Yes, welcome, Namaste, and if you just state your name, that’d be appreciated.

Yeah, my name is Sri Lata Vara Praveen. So Namaste to the Madam Chair, respected mayor, city councilors, and fellow citizens. I’m here to speak in favor of option A. My name is Sri Lata Vara Praveen.

I’m a senior psychiatrist working at Parkwood Institute Mental Health Guild, London. Serving every single day, patients with severe and persistent mental illness for the last 14 years. I’m also an associate professor at Western University involved in education and research. In my work, I find myself strongly advocating daily for the folks affected by social determinants of health, such as poverty, homelessness, vulnerable, and marginalized population.

I’m saying this as I do not take lightly the issues raised by a few people proposing a ban on fireworks because of its impact on mental health. I’m fully aware of the impact of fireworks on mental health, especially for patients with anxiety disorders and PTSD, which is post-traumatic stress disorder. Yes, people suffering from PTSD are hypervigilant and get startled by loud noises like fireworks. But it’s also important to remember that they get startled by someone coming up from behind them, a door closing, something getting dropped on the floor, et cetera.

The solution here is not to eliminate fireworks, but to invest in resources for this vulnerable population so they don’t live in constant fear. As of today, my patients have to wait for one to two years to get therapy for trauma, and I think that is unacceptable. Additionally, as was shared just now, patients with trauma and anxiety get triggered by unpredictable events, fireworks are planned in predictable events, which allows people to prepare more proactively. And I’m not saying it’s always unpredictable, they can get triggered by predictable events, too, but they have more time to actually prepare for this.

Secondly, in all of this spare time, I volunteer in the community in various capacities, one of them being Chinma Mission London, a charitable organization promoting Hindu faith. I have been the president of this religious organization for the last several years, and I stand here with unanimous support from a board of directors. I have also completed a course in Hindu chaplaincy. I shared this introduction to emphasize how near and dear this issue is to me.

The city’s proposal to ban backyard fireworks has not taken into consideration the religious rights and freedom of this peaceful community practicing Hindu faith. We have over 150 students at our center in London who study Hinduism and its scriptures every weekend. As a Hindu religious organization in London, promoting and teaching Hinduism in an authentic and deep manner to preserve its traditions and culture is integral to our existence, while also staying with the times and ensuring environmental responsibility. For example, on July 16th, we hosted a global event promoting environmentally friendly practices to protect our planet.

Educating youth and community members to be responsible individuals is much more valuable than a punitive measure like a ban that will risk alienating an entire community. Celebration of festivals is an integral part of any culture and Diwali is the largest Hindu festival that brings together friends and families. We are disappointed by this attempt to erase a very important ritual from our Diwali traditions in a family setting. Banning backyard fireworks takes away this 800 year old tradition that symbolizes light over darkness, triumph of good over evil.

In summary, I have been living in London since 2003 and have been nothing but the right years and contributing citizen. I share fondly with my friends and relatives about the diversity and inclusivity in London where I have raised a beautiful family with three children rooted in their culture and heritage. I also passionately promote the city of London in our recruitment interviews for psychiatry supplying for a job here. I’m confident that the city will take our concern seriously and honor the city’s commitment to preserve cultural traditions and diversity in London.

And we can all continue to feel the pride in being a Londoner. Thank you. Thank you for those words and joining us this evening, going online to Mr. Tom Zacharias.

Welcome, you’re unmuted. You have up to five minutes. Please proceed. My thanks to your worship, Mayor Morgan, members of the council and this committee for allowing me to speak to you today.

As a quick background, I joined Caboom Fireworks in early 2022 as its president. For over 10 years, Caboom Fireworks has been retailing low hazard consumer fireworks in London in the weeks leading up to Victoria Day and Canada Day holidays. Caboom also distributes to and oversees consumer fireworks programs during these two holiday weeks at major big box retailers with stores in London. Sales permits are obtained each season at each location, which include appropriate inspections as part of the permit process.

Sales are conducted in accordance with bylaws, as well as federal explosives regulations, which provide comprehensive guidelines governing the display for sale of consumer fireworks. Among the many requirements, these federal guidelines mandate that a comprehensive and approved set of safety instructions outlining the safe handling and discharge of fireworks is provided to every customer. Our mobile stores are fully secured steel shipping containers with lock boxes. The entrances and exits that are large and accessible are shelving as well that in place for steel dividers to separate products into appropriate lot sizes.

Products are packed in consumer packs with accordance with regulations. Fire extinguishers are method at the end of each containers and are certified annually. Wiring is completed by certified electricians. No smoking signs are visible inside and outside of our containers and our containers are placed in a safe distance from roadways, intersections and buildings.

Caboom typically hires local staff and pays rent to multiple landlords who own large properties in London. Caboom has been training at staff for many years in the safe handling and storage and sales of fireworks. Our team is well versed on who can legally purchase fireworks and how they can be safely used and enforcing the age of 18 restriction. We provide our customers with instructions for safe use and believe that education of our customers is key to ensuring a safe and enjoyable holiday season for all.

Thousands of loyal customers in London look forward to purchasing their consumer fireworks locally during these sales weeks and they operate safe fireworks displays with their families and communities. On a larger scale, Caboom operates 80 retail locations in Southern Ontario and distributes to major retailers who operate over a thousand stores across Canada. In Ontario, these retailers operate fireworks programs in over 130 municipalities which continue to allow the sale and use of consumer grade fireworks. In fact, nearly all Ontario municipalities continue to allow the sale and use of consumer fireworks, including but not limited to municipalities such as Toronto, Windsor, Cambridge, Waterloo, Kitchener, Hamilton, Burlington, Oakville, St.

Catharines. I could go on as it’s an extensive list. In fact, Kaladin and Branten are virtually the only municipalities which have recently prohibited family fireworks. And it is our understanding that it has not yet been shown to decrease fireworks related complaints.

Recently, the city of Mississauga has undertaken a comprehensive review of its fireworks bylaws, including engagement with the public and the fireworks industry. And we’ve been advised by city officials that recommended changes will generally be restricted to increased education and enforcement. Both the sales and use will continue to be permitted. The city of Toronto conducted a similar review involving engagement with both the public and the industry with a similar outcome, focusing on education and enforcement.

In London’s 2022 online survey regarding fireworks, the majority of respondents did not support a complete man on fireworks. In addition, we do not believe that a majority would have supported a complete ban on consumer fireworks discharged on private property on Victoria Day or Canada Day holidays, if this question had been clearly and directly asked in the survey. Furthermore, it should be noted that COVID provided a unique and unprecedented landscape for increased misuse and discharge outside of allowable holidays. This might have influenced opinions at the time of the survey.

If the city of London chooses to disallow the safe and regulated sale of consumer fireworks, there will no doubt become an increased and permanent need for regular police enforcement, as renegade vendors will surely pop up repeatedly during the long weekends to sell questionable product in an illegal and unsafe manner out of motor vehicles. We strongly encourage this committee and members of council to adopt option A for the continued regulated sale and use of consumer grade fireworks with an increased focus on consumer education and the enforcement of bylaws. Kaboom is prepared to work closely with the city of London to ensure the continued safe enjoyment fireworks as a family and neighborhood event. I’m certainly open for questions if there is an opportunity to do that.

Thank you for your consideration today. Thank you for those comments, there are no opportunities to project dialogue this evening, but do know that our bylaw leader is here as well and listening in and will certainly reach out to you as there be any follow up that’s required. Thank you again for joining us. I’m going to ask technology a question.

How difficult is it to go to the committee rooms? Okay, we’re good. Okay, so I wasn’t asking committee rooms to step up just yet, but there was one gentleman in committee room five who was super eager and has been standing this entire time. So I’m going to ask to go to him.

I don’t I’m getting too fatigued before it’s time. And so just going to you, sir, just to state your name and you have up to five minutes and then I’m going to ask that that might just stays with no lineup after you. So please proceed and welcome. Madam Chair, thank you so much.

My name is Dr. Akshay Vasudev. I’m also a psychiatrist like Dr. Vara Pravan, who just represented the community of physicians as well as more importantly the community behind me Hindus of London, Ontario.

I strongly like her urge you to consider option A alone, not only because of the festival of Diwali and we will be allowed fireworks in our own backyard at our own discretion in the concept of inclusivity, which has been well said for Dr. Vara Pravan. But I’m also conscious about this lady behind me who is very conscious about her pets, right? We want inclusivity for everyone pets get affected.

I have had pets all my life and I can share with you that yes, a few hours between dusk and 11 p.m. is probably traumatic for them. But can that be balanced with human needs too? I asked that or implore that to see in the spirit of global inclusivity, are we looking only at animals or us human beings who have rights to the charter of various human rights that of being able to celebrate religion?

I think will trump much more than rights of an animal for five to six hours, three times a year. Canada Day, Victoria Day and Diwali and maybe for Chinese Day as well. So let’s be aware of what we are talking about. Secondly, I came to this country like Dr.

Vara Pravan around 13 years ago, 2010, and I’ve cherished each and every Diwali with my family of two daughters and my wife. It is imperative for us to be given the freedom to celebrate our festival the way we learned them back at home. And if you’re talking about countries as such, if you are trying to demarcate, people have given values of AQI and pollution and things. Yes, in my home country India, Diwali is no longer do fireworks, but that country has a very high AQI.

There is a conscious reason, scientific reason as to why fireworks have been banned in India itself, consecutively, just to save the physical nature that we all have to breathe air, air is what we need to survive. Canada is lucky, extremely lucky that we do not have any pollution. And if we have to preserve that quality of air, we need to look at the bigger picture, not some fireworks on five hours of Diwali. So we need to be very aware of what is the proposal suggesting.

If five hours of fireworks are making no changes in pollution, it’s causing no environmental damage. It’s probably causing some amount of trauma to some people with PTSD and anxiety and probably some animals. What about the rest? What about the people who are not in the room today?

What are the people who have more important issues, who can’t be here because they’re looking after people? I have to leave my clinic just to be here because this is very close to my heart. And I will not allow such a thing to go slip through as an invested citizen of this city that such a bylaw would come through, it will really hurt. Harry heard a lot of people.

So I implore Madam Chair Council to please consider option A alone. Thank you. Thank you for your comments and for joining us today. I’ll just advise committee rooms as well that would be the same rules of the gallery.

We just asked even if you’re excited that you hold your applause realizing we all have people with different opinions in the space. We want to be inclusive to everyone that they feel this is a welcoming space. I’m going to go back in chambers to the front microphone and then I’ll go to the back one after that. Welcome, please state your name and you have up to five minutes.

Thank you, thank you so much. Namaste and good evening to one and all present here. My name is Bipasha Pataka and I’m here to present my point on behalf of Hindu youth community. As we have been talking about this for a while now, fireworks hold a strong cultural and emotional significance for us as Hindu youth, especially during the valley.

My childhood memories are of incredible excitement and joy. While I await fireworks with the entire family gathered around with a sense of intense well-being and security. It created so many fond memories while having to enjoy this alongside my friends and family and even to date its recollection makes my heart smile. It has not only connected me to my strong cultural roots but also provided me with a sense of belonging.

While I am an immigrant here in this country staying far away from my homeland, I wait eagerly every year in the city to actually see this visually captivating and awe-inspiring display of fireworks. These experiences are meaningful to every other Hindu immigrant students at large who are trying to maintain a connection to their culture and heritage and staying away from their homeland. Today, we are debating an option that might eliminate our freedom of religious ceremony and infringing on fundamental freedom of peaceful practice of religion guaranteed by the Wonderland Land Canada that we call home now. The proposed option B will severely restrict our religious freedom as minority in the city.

Please vote for option A. Taking this away from us will totally impact me or rather are the youth freedom of expression to practice our religious belief. I implore the city to find ways to honor these traditions while also adapting to the changing times and concerns. Thank you.

Thank you again for joining us. Well said. I’m going to the top mic in the back and then I’ll proceed to the front microphone on the other side of chambers. Welcome, please state your name and you have up to five minutes.

Good afternoon and Namaste. My name is Mohan Kandikar and I’m here to support option A. I have been a resident of London for 37 years. Over the years I have seen the city grow.

Communities expand and population rise. The city has now become a vibrant divers and multicultural. I’m proud to be part of this tolerant and welcoming society. My both daughters are born and brought them in London.

Their journey started at Jack Chamber School to Lucas Secondary School to Western University. They both are married and live in Toronto. I’m concerned about the issue of ban on fireworks. The valley is one of the biggest celebration of Hindu religion and fireworks is an integral part of this festival.

This festival is not only celebrated in India but by Hindus all over the world. Even the Prime Minister of Canada and leaders of other countries recognize this festival by sending congratulatory messages to Hindus everywhere. The Hindus are living in London, Ontario quietly and peacefully contributing to this society the best way they can. Let me share with you the memories of the valley celebration in our household.

This is one of the tradition we celebrated with great joy and happiness. I and my wife would take a day off. She would prepare special sweets. I would quote unquote happily clean the house and decorate with lights.

We would get the sparklers from dollar store in the dark evening of October. I would light them in the backyard and help our daughters to hold them in their tiny hands. I still remember the smiles and excitement on their faces. My daughter now celebrates the valley the same way when she was little helping her daughters to hold sparkles in their hands and watching them having fun.

If you ask any kid what is the best part of the valley I bet the answer will be fireworks. Taking away fireworks from the valley is like taking away Santa Claus from Christmas. The valley means row of lights. The row of lights signify elimination of darkness from over lives.

The houses are decorated with lights, families welcome. The guests’ sweets are distributed and the children get new clothes and of course they get fireworks. Everyone loves the valley for different reasons. The children look forward to it for nothing but fireworks.

I urge city not to ban fireworks and take away the joy from our next generation when they celebrate the biggest, the most prominent and the most important festivals of India tradition, the valley. Thank you and I hope you choose option A. Thank you for joining us this evening. I’ll just restate that if your points have already been said to briefly summarize it.

I still have two other committee rooms that are full and I’m going to go to the gentleman at the front mic here and then next in line we will go virtually to Ms. Ronson just for they can prepare. Please proceed. Welcome.

State your name and you have up to five minutes. Good evening everyone. Namaste. Satsriya Kal.

Salaamu Alaikum. My name is Saket Pandi and I am father of these two lovely boys here and just a question I would like to answer on their behalf as well. What’s the funnest thing they do on Diwali, Victoria Day and Canada Day? They would say fireworks.

We do not do or use dangerous explosives as some people are using that word dangerous explosives and illegal fireworks. Sorry to disappoint you all but I or my children have never done anything illegal. We don’t use dangerous explosives either. We just use sparklers, fountain lights, pinners and they do make some noise.

We do have some small fireworks which do make noise but when it comes about pollution well three days of fireworks will not cause a lot of pollution but each and every one of us driving from point A to B even if we have to go to a grocery store or convenience store cause a lot more pollution, noise pollution or loud noises. Well nowadays in Walmart or any store we can buy headphones which are noise cancellation headphones. Here we are standing talking about ban on fireworks because of certain small issues and certain people are saying that a large community of people doing fireworks on be Canada, Victoria de and Diwali should be excluded from their fun things just because they had a little bit of inconvenience for maybe five to ten hours in a whole year. It’s like asking to ban knives because there are people out there stabbing someone.

You cannot just advocate for that. It’s just a little bit of inconvenience which can be solved and sorted out in a very very very easy way. Cost you ten dollars to buy a noise cancellation headphone but my kids I immigrated they were born here and from the first year when they were born we have been celebrating Diwali, Victoria de and Canada day with fireworks. When I immigrated here 12 years ago all I knew and learned to do on Canada day Victoria day is fireworks or maybe go camping and that’s it there is no other way to celebrate it.

This is what Canadians have been doing for hundreds of years and Hindus, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist have been celebrating Diwali for hundreds if not thousands of years with fireworks. Animals, well this is my younger son and he loves animals, he loves pets, he has cat, he has a dog, he has reptiles, everything. He does care about animals. Well your animal cannot be a reason for inconveniencing others.

I would urgently request the council members to please select option A. Thank you. Thank you. I’ll also note to the members of the public with us today there is no age limit on speakers so if children weren’t in attendance and did want to speak they are welcome to line up in a microphone and have their turn.

We’re not always as intimidating as okay we’re not always as intimidating so thank you I just want to note that that sometimes kids do come and speak as well so all are really welcome to have their voices heard. So in the in term did you want to say anything briefly because you did have a few seconds left of your time if one of the children wanted. I would just ask a question how do you love fireworks? Do you love them?

Yeah good answer, it matched yours. So thank you for joining us. I will go to Ms. Ronson who’s joined us virtually to come on stream and unmute.

We’re just loading in. Perfect. Okay you are on screen. You seem to be unmuted.

You can hear me? Yes we can. You’re coming through clear. Welcome and thank you for joining us and you have up to five minutes.

Please proceed. Good afternoon Chair Pelosi and committee members. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to speak on this matter. I’ve been working on the campaign to ban fireworks for the past two years.

When we started our group Londoners for Quiet Fireworks, we formulated a three-year plan that would see the city gradually phase out all traditional fireworks. Option two of the proposed fireworks by-law needs step two of our plan a ban on the sale and detonation of consumer fireworks. It has not been an easy fight. I have been docked by the opposing side.

People looking at my business page and phone number to leave nasty messages on both. I’ve also received online threats of physical harm. One man suggested that I could go choke on a male appendage. Another told me that I should go kill myself and call me the seaward.

To add insult to injury, the city clerk’s office decided to censor my parents. Sorry I’m going to do the same then. I’m going to note that there are children pleasant in the gallery as we talk about potential swear words even if you’re blocking them out and I just please stick to the fact of the fireworks and I will note that your petition is in front of us for committee and those joining us on page 150. We did get your communication.

My comments did not count towards your time. Your time will not start until you start speaking so don’t worry. Fine where you’re at and please when you’re ready. Yes, sorry to add insult to injury, the city clerk’s office decided to censor my public submissions and yet allow another petition that had no signatures attached to it on the public agenda and now the CNFA is threatening lawsuits if you choose option A.

In spite of all this, I will continue to speak out about the harms of fireworks. Fireworks are projectile explosives. It can be used as weapons. For example in London this summer on the 11th floor in apartments, someone fired and lit off Roman candles at an individual inside.

Every year people are maimed and killed by fireworks. We heard the news of a 24-year-old hockey player in Michigan who died of chest trauma when an errant firework hit him dead on a former London police officer who wrote on twitter that you are not allowed to discharge pelicans. So why are fireworks not allowed or why are fireworks not included with that by law? The issue of harm caused by fireworks is not going away.

If a stronger by law doesn’t get passed this time around, there will be others who bring it back who bring back the issue next year and the year after that until someone finally listens. I’m hoping that tonight will be the time that you listen. The UN recently made a declaration that the era of global warming has arrived. The city of London has a climate emergency plan and the issue of pollution created by fireworks demands that council view it from the lens of climate emergency screening tool.

There is no denying the mounds of scientific data available that speak to the harm of fireworks that caused caused to our environment, people, pets and wildlife. Are you willing to discard all of that evidence just so people can have fun at the expense of others? I mean municipalities act to create municipalities broad powers to invoke a bylaw to protect the safety and health of residents. Through the letters to the agenda you’ve heard from a social worker, a former firefighter, several folks with disabilities that include autism, PTSD, anxiety as well as many others who express concerns about personal safety and health issues related to fireworks.

These are just a few who felt comfortable sharing their stories publicly. Our group has many others who suffer an exacerbation of PTSD symptoms when they hear fireworks. One indigenous member of our group suffers from PTSD because her son was murdered by gunshot. She says that every time she hears fireworks go off it takes her rate back to that day when her son was murdered.

In regards to Canada Day fireworks she said, “It’s an even bigger offense to her because people are getting their jollies by celebrating indigenous genocide.” She stated that, quote, ” her indigenous identity was ripped out from under her at birth and she doesn’t love the idea of Canada Day,” which literally celebrates the destruction of indigenous peoples and communities and the takeover of our lands. How could we in good conscience ask members like this to participate in this PPM when we knew that it would only serve to re-traumatize them? We couldn’t. I’ll speak briefly about the Duwali celebrations.

We do not believe that any holiday, whether it’s Christian, Hindu, Chinese, or secular, should be celebrated with fireworks because of the harm they create. If we can see to one group we’ll have to make allowances for all. 30 seconds. Of proposed bylaws, all the community groups will still be able to seek a permit for their shows.

Tonight please consider the harm caused to residents by fireworks. Consider the extensive research that has been presented to you and vote for option B. Thank you for your time. And thank you for being with us tonight.

Once again, page 115 contains the signatures and divided into local signatures and specifically London as well for council’s consideration. I will go to committee room one, if possible. There’s been a resident lined up with a microphone for a while. And then once that resident’s heard, I will go to back up to the gallery.

So committee room one, please state your name and thank you for joining us. You have up to five minutes. Good day is the microphone. You can hear me.

We can hear you wonderfully. Please proceed. Good day, madam chair and thank you, councillors and everyone who’s taking the time to listen to this very, very difficult subject. My name is Lori Miller and I understand that people like fireworks.

When I was younger, I liked fireworks. The magic razzle dazzle of light. The the emotion and tradition that it holds for certain cultures. I get all of that.

But fireworks are not magic and fireworks have a very dark and ugly underbelly. They are chemicals. They are explosions. They are gunpowder.

We have an important decision to make and it’s hard. Progress is hard. Change is hard. Being devoted to a secular caring society is hard.

Asking for quiet nights around certain holidays for our neighbors is not hard. In fact, change, we need to embrace change. Remember, women were not allowed to hold office. Remember, we didn’t want to wear seat belts and we wanted to smoke in public places.

Change is to protect the public. It’s also to protect all that we hold dear. As a science person, I would love to go on and on and on about the chemistry, the combustion, the byproducts, and the biohazards. But we don’t have time for that.

What I want to talk about is who are we as Londoners? Who are we that we are willing to ignore the residual consequences of fireworks? Who are we that we think it doesn’t matter if our neighbor with a newborn child or our neighbor with mental health or our hard shift-working neighbor feeding the family would like to sleep? But no, I’m in my backyard popping and banging relentlessly, unpredictably.

Since I’ve been retired from my career, I have had the joy of working with wildlife rehabilitation and I will tell you it is not pretty. It is ugly. The consequences go beyond PTSD and lack of sleep, animals separated from their parents, birds separated from their parents, fawns lost in panic pleading for their mother who cannot go to them because of the trauma of fireworks. I see firsthand that additional patients coming into rehab centers and I have spoken to many of them in preparation for this tonight.

You please try to think outside your box as I have done and I am heartbroken. I know there’s cultural importance. I get all that. But we need to be bigger than that and we need to be better than that.

We’re dealing with forest fires, wildfires, climate change. We are dealing with the law. And you know, I had a conversation with an amazing family man just the other day and he said, you know, I want to live a little bit outside of the city and I wanted to introduce my children to the joy of fireworks. They’re getting to that age and he didn’t really think it.

I’m sure it was within the days and again, that’s one of the issues. The days are confusing. But he lit the fireworks and his neighbors, he said, they ran over. They were screaming.

They were crying. They were begging him to stop. The horses in their barn were thrashing, cutting themselves, hurting themselves, desperately tying to escape. That’s just not one barn.

That’s just his neighbor’s barn. The sheer panic that goes on, you know, dogs here four times better than us. And what we think is going on in our backyard, sound travels 343 meters per second. One second of a magical boom and everybody around you in 343 meters and that’s just the start, is dealing with the consequences of that unpredictable and frightening explosion.

London, who are we? Are we not the bird-friendly city? Are we not the forest city? Do we not support all communities?

Have we not had we’ve had tragedy? We’ve tried to recover from. I think the simple solution is a clear solution. One of the reasons the reporting and the enforcement is so tricky is because it’s three days before or one day before and it’s a very wishy-washy by-law and Londoners are abiding citizens.

So the argument that people are going to break rules anyway is a false argument. We are good people and if you tell us not to light them off in our backyard and that is clear, well, when people do, we know that they went out of their way to inconvenience, as the speaker said, they didn’t want to inconvenience anyone. You have reached your five minutes. Out of their way to inconvenience the neighbors.

Am I at 30 seconds? You’d actually already had your 30-second ding. I missed that. Can we please?

Yeah, you got 20 seconds to ask us to vote option B. Thank you. Thank you for joining us, Ms. Miller.

I’ll also note for everyone’s information that your communication is here on the public docket and located on page 106. I will go to the top microphone in the gallery. Please state your name and you have up to five minutes. Yes, my name is Bill McClemmet.

I’ve been selling fireworks in the city of London for 33 years. I just want to expand on Michael’s comments that fireworks is part of the fabric of this community. I execute to a street party once a year, about 20 homes. These people hardly ever speak to each other, but once a year they bring out the barbecues and they have a street party.

I have many people come in and buy kits and say I’m going to invite my neighbors over tonight to watch fireworks. I had one gentleman in my tent this year to buy one fireworks. He said I have 100 people coming to an event and everybody brings one fireworks. So what I wanted to comment was on how it brings communities together, families together, and friends together.

That’s all I wanted to say. I know the city of London is 170 years old. It’s going to be around for thousands of years, but to think that our children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, etc. cannot let out fireworks.

I think it’s a travesty and I hope that the city council goes with planning. Thank you. Thank you for those comments for being here. A brief moment to committee.

It is 543. My intention was to take a dinner break or some sort of break at six for a few minutes. At that point it’s going to be your question if you want to have five minutes, ten minutes, whatever. So just think on that.

As I’m going to go to another speaker at the microphone in the top. Thank you, Madam Chair. Namaste, respected Mayor Morgan, Madam Chair, Honorable Counselors and Residents of the City of London. My name is Nimi Shukla.

I’m a proud Londoner and a member of the Hindu-Bijarathi community. Madam Chair, I’m interested in knowing if the city has involved relevant stakeholders, community stakeholders, community organizations, decision makers, business organizations, and residents of the city that could be directly affected by the change in the by-law. As it is repeatedly said here and that’s why I was deleting all my paragraphs because so many things have been already said. As it’s been repeatedly said here today that the change in the by-law to ban backyard fireworks will directly affect the Hindu community of London.

And none of these ten plus organizations were invited or involved from the beginning of the process. In our opinion, a direct ban on a backyard fireworks may not be the right solution. Instead, an action plan should be implemented to educate and train vendors and suppliers and the customers. Victor has covered quite a lot of that on on that line.

So, not going to deliberate on that. In produce control programs similar to smart serve that is implemented by AGCO for alcohol. My vote is option A. And again, by involving various groups in conducting a force-filled analysis, you will see the community’s readiness and acceptance in the change process.

Measure and monitor the progress and outcomes can be done regularly on this. We are hoping that the city will consider the impact of the ban on the emotions of the Hindu community. Thank you for your time. Thank you for being here this evening and for not repeating what’s already been said.

I believe there’s a gentleman at the microphone in committee room one. Perfect. He’s there waiting to speak if we can get him on a microphone to go. And welcome to State your name.

You have up to five minutes. Charbonneau. I work with my father-in-law, Victor Amber, K&H fireworks. And I had a bunch of say and it kind of changed because of all the stuff that I’ve been hearing.

I’m not going to reiterate what everyone said, but I would like to go a little bit further with it. I just been in fireworks for 10 years, part time for about six, seven years. I was in corporate, a major corporate company for 22 years. Took a pay cut, lost a lot of pension and everything to do something like fireworks.

The pay is not bad. The hours are horrible. It’s every weekend, all summer, every summer, so I don’t get time off. What I do is I work for 12, 13 hours and one day to do 15 minutes or 10 minutes for thousands of people celebrating life.

And anyone in this chamber or on council, I’m sure everyone’s been doing fireworks. So what is it? It’s all happiness. The world is full of people and arguments and problems and issues.

And people do have issues. PTSD, my whole family is from the Army and the Navy. I’ve seen it all. I’ve heard it all.

And no matter what you do, it’s always going to be there. Like they said, fireworks, a glass drops. You tap them on your shoulder. That’s what happens.

So I want to talk about the environment. And the main thing I’m thinking about is when I first show up here, and we usually have two seasons, we have seasons of what construction in winter, well, there’s a lot of construction. And if you were to look at the stats, 38% of our actual pollution is caused by concrete of buildings and roads. That’s our biggest polluter, lime and concrete.

And construction, 30% of the carbon management percentage in Canada. Also, in the fact of carbon footprints. Sorry, I’ll get back to that. But in terms of clean air and energy, like one gentleman said, our pollution is great.

Actually, we’re reminded that it has a June 2nd, 200, 2023. We’re 111 of 130 countries. And ahead of us is Malta and Guwana and Lithuania and places a lot smaller that are doing a lot worse for what we’re doing. We’re achieving our goals.

Also, when it regains to the sounds of 343 meters a second, I have a dog, I have a cat. A lot of our shows are done in the country. There is stuff around us all the time. And yes, it travels.

Do I hear in my house when it’s 60 feet away? Minimal. No different in the six-hour lightning storm. So, this year you guys are having an air show and it has, oh, what do we have here?

Demo team, Pegasus, Sea Fury, the Mustang, the fighter wing, the snowbirds. They’re all coming for three days. And they’re going to lit, I think, was a 19, the only amount of emission in three days into the atmosphere. Now, if you look at, sorry, the actual emission cost of, I’ll get back to that, is we do souls all over the country on the west coast and we do a show on a national park and it’s well regulated from the time we go into the park, the time we’re out of the park.

And we’re talking moose, bears, wolves, coyotes, you name it, it’s there. And it’s been heavily thought about and it’s designated and we do a show all the time. Thousands of people, it’s a community event. The whole community comes out, the whole area comes out.

It’s a celebration. Now, for that to happen, it takes a community to know what they’re dealing with. Fireworks aren’t a problem like everything else. You have these bylaws, but yet people say, well, 23 days out of the year, well, if you hunt, you can only deer hunt for, what, two months?

Thirty-second hunting is a time and whatever else. So, you can only do stuff from certain bylaws at certain times of the year, so some certain stuff does affect other things as well. So, I think that we do see the days of fireworks and quitting it and getting rid of it is a travesty. People, like they said, that’s your five minutes.

Pardon me. That’s your five minutes. That’s not five minutes. It’s been five minutes, but I do have a request of you.

If you could just restate your name one more time, we just need to have it for the public record. Michelle Charbonneau. Thank you. The committee clerk nodded and she did hear you this time.

Thank you so much. In preparation to make sure that no one lines up, but they don’t have to, and if we’re on the same page, I’m going to go to committee room five, and then I’ll go back to committee room one where the lady in the gray sweater is, and then that’s going to be our speakers before the break, and then we will be back shortly, and then after break, the mayor will be joining us. So, um, committee room five, the microphone can go live. Please just state your name, and you have up to five minutes.

Thank you. Can you hear me? Okay. Absolutely.

All right. So, good afternoon evening. I’m a dam chair and committee members and people of our community. My name is Tara Golden.

I really thank you for this opportunity to speak about an issue that greatly affects my life. I appreciate speaking for myself and not having anybody speak on my behalf. Um, this greatly affects my life, the people I know, animals I know, and the environment around me. I’m a resident of White Oaks and have been for 10 years.

I’m very privileged to have access to wonderful green spaces around me, White Oaks Park and Chesapeake Park, especially. I’m here to speak about why council, councils should show, should vote for option B, banning consumer purchase, and backyard use of fireworks. One of the main reasons behind my stance is that I have a rescue dog who is terrified of fireworks. Um, he’s not orange, but he kind of looks like that, um, when fireworks go off.

So, um, I have to severely sedate him for a period of one week on either side of a holiday. So, the fact that people are saying this is five hours or two hours or three hours or whatever it is, that is untrue for me. Um, he is so scared. He crawls behind my furnace.

He is so terrified that I cannot walk him, um, in the afternoon or have him go outside to do his business after 5 p.m. as he is afraid fireworks will be set off. Fireworks in my neighborhood go off at all random times, at all hours and all days of the night, and during the day. So, I actually wrote an email to, um, chair polos at 3 a.m.

one night, um, after being awoken by fireworks. Fireworks also affect my household sleep and ability to get proper rest. I deal with people’s finances, their retirement savings, their finances, everything they have saved in their life. And I need to be able to get a good night’s rest in order to function accurately and productively.

My father has dementia and fireworks affect his sleep and rest levels as well. I am his sole caregiver. So, I’m already tired. I’m pretty exhausted already.

And I’d like to know how can noise-canceling headphones resolve my problems? They can’t. It’s not realistic. I can’t just go to Walmart and buy some headphones and cancel all these things I have to do with in my life.

I have seen fireworks being set off from a moving car. Fireworks are also used as weapons towards people just this year. Waterly regional police laid multiple charges after they responded to multiple calls that involve fireworks being shot at people. Fireworks were also set off on TTC buses that were packed with people.

There were also reports this year, um, in a white oaks community watch group of fireworks being shot at people at white oaks mall. This brings me to the issue of bylaw enforcement. From my continued experience, it is very difficult. If not impossible for the current bylaw to be enforced.

How can I report a person or persons when they are sitting on fireworks in a public space without a permit, a park, from a moving car? I don’t know who they are or where they live. How can they be held accountable? Who is accountable for giving fireworks to minors who abuse them?

If we ban the sale and use of public fireworks, this will also free up needed resources within the fire department and bylaw enforcement department. Also, why would people complain when they know it’s pointless? I know others will also touch on the fact fireworks just serves people, speech, sleep, wake babies, trigger P, TSD, and some individuals cause pollution and harm or killed wildlife. They are also not friendly to people with autism or auditory processing disorders.

All of these concerns mentioned are based in fact science and studies back these findings. Is the environmental cost worth a couple minutes of entertainment? Is it ethical for us to continue to do this? Are we okay with ignoring the negative effects of fireworks?

Should we base decisions on a person’s feelings or facts? When spending time in the parks around me, I find many spent fireworks and the garbage left over from them in green spaces. No one cleans them up so wildlife can end up consuming them. Their toxins can seep into the soil and in the time where wildfires are at an all-time high in Canada, should we be adding to the pollution in the air?

It’s pretty rhetorical if you ask me. 30 second morning? Speaking honestly, there comes a time when we need to change for the betterment of society. When we talk about cultural and cultural and traditions, if these traditions harm or have negative effect, it is time to reflect and make the necessary changes to move forward in goodness and light.

We need to change traditions when they harm us and our communities. It is time for us to think critically about this issue and embrace positive change. This is our time. Optioner should take pride in evolving and better for a better tomorrow and I implore you to vote for option B.

The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. Thank you for your time and consideration. Thank you and as always as your word counselor and as any counselors, anytime a day you write, sometimes you might be surprised that we are also up at the same time and sometimes we’re awake for the same reasons you are as for residents too. So the gentleman who just stood at the microphone, you’re not going to be heard before break, but happy to give you first dibs when we get back just for you don’t stand around.

Perfect, a thumbs up. Committee room one, the lady in the gray sweater, not sure if you’re tag teaming this one, but I’ll leave that to you if you want to share your five minutes or it’s just you. I’m just confused what’s happening but proceed with your name and you have up to five minutes. Thanks very much.

My name is Diane Fortney. I have been to City Hall many times and many public participation meetings and the issue of fireworks is something that is a concern to a lot of people in London and I have the advantage of being able to see this from many different lens. I am a nurse up until a few years ago when I worked in mental health area in Emerge. So I see the fact that loud noises that over the years sound more and more like bombs which are what fireworks sound like now has a terrible effect on people who had any kind of trauma and it’s not an effect of two hours during a whole year.

We are a community, a country, a municipality that is inclusive, that does invite and welcome many different cultures but we also need to realize that many people come from more torn areas with a lot of emotional baggage and to scare them and traumatize them and have them suffer. To me it’s not something that I want to participate in so I see it from that point of view. I also see it from the point of view where I called many nights, many different numbers to no avail because I needed to sleep because the next day I would be going into Emerge and giving medications to people being sleep deprived and I really don’t see that I would have better sleep if I wore headphones. So I would jokingly tell the I don’t know the third or fourth person that I had called don’t bother because don’t worry because I’m getting up in five in in half an hour but don’t come if you come to Emerge don’t take a medication from Diane because I would be sleep deprived and actually had a conversation with a gentleman from the fire department who I don’t think they really like these things that much who said he was also sleep deprived and I said well you don’t want medication for me and I don’t want you coming and trying to put out the fire at my house so I see it from that lens.

Also I’m an animal advocate so I see and know and have educated myself that I would encourage other people to do also people who say they like animals and their children like animals what this actually does to animals both domestic animals and wildlife and I find it actually I found it pretty offensive for people to be talking about the fact that it’s just a dog and they people shouldn’t be inconvenienced because of my dog that shows a total lack of ignorant a total lack of knowledge and ignorance and I mean that in the two sense of the word of the human animal relationship that we I would hope by 2023 we are starting to learn a bit more about that so I know that from my experience and also from being a psychiatric nurse the last thing that I want to say is that I have been to many of these public meetings and I have never ever seen the disrespect or heard the disrespect that I have heard tonight there are because someone does not agree with a certain issue does not mean that you are against a whole religion or that you are not inclusive in fact I would say that many of the things that have been said tonight are actually fairly hypocritical my idea is that I don’t want to cause more pain and suffering in the world so if people are telling me that they can’t sleep it hurts them it scares their animals they don’t like it it hurts the environment which is our home I would really like to listen to that and maybe maybe be a little more considerate thank you thank you um at this time we’re at what we agreed on for a break time or like just we just need to recharge before we hear from more residents looking to committee how long are you looking for? give me a number okay I have two 15s two 15s and I’ll take it so okay so we’re looking for I’m going to do um in a minute I will do a motion for a mover in a seconder for a 15-minute break I’m going to say move by councilor perble it’s going to be seconded by councilor for a bit in the in term to the friends in the gallery this is your opportunity also to have a break there are un-nutritious vending machines of what I would call not nutritious but delicious um on the gallery floor up where you are anyone in a committee room being one or five you can stay put where you are um if you want um there’s also some space in council chambers if you want to try our uncomfortable bench seats here as I told you earlier when I stopped in to say hi you’re not missing anything um but if you want to come for a different experience please join us um so we have a motion on the floor for just a 15-minute break we’ll be back on time moved and seconded a hand vote of a brief break councilor perble this is a hand vote okay that carries uh so 15 minutes um and then we’ll see you back here with the line up at the mic to resume uh high hearing your opinions thank you I’m just gonna ask everyone to find their perfect spot of bench and settle in we’re ready to get started if there’s anyone I don’t see anyone but if there is anyone on committee room is one for your five there is room in chambers if you would like to come and join us and to people coming in there is another door or you could just squish by people um kind of like a big roundabout perfect yeah and like I said anyway in the committee room there is room here in chambers if you would like to come in and join us Daryl you’re staying with us too perfect Daryl Newcomb is in council chambers for any fans who want to see him live in person um sorry the night grows long some days um perfect so we’re just reconvening um committee is all here and other council members are online watching us so I’m going to resume my place in the gallery I’m going to start with the mic the lower mic here and then upper mic on this side um and we have cleared all our speakers off zoom and I will monitor the committee rooms though they are starting to be shut down uh so welcome your name and you have up to five minutes namaste uh my name is Belman Urahma Krishna Charya and uh honorary councilwoman uh chair madam chair and mayor uh although present virtually uh and to all the council members thank you for giving me this opportunity to come in and put in my thoughts uh on this crucial subject when I actually got to know about this uh bylaw and that we were debating and that we were having a public poll it was quite late uh a month ago and uh just by reading through the headline of that uh bylaw when it was proposed to ban fireworks uh well that that basically called it for me that I had this is just just for you know everybody to know this is my first public participation meeting ever in my life I’ve stayed and worked in three different continents uh multiple countries always have been able to celebrate Diwali in each of these countries that I have I was a part of and I have stayed and worked there but when I saw the you know bylaw uh on the meeting that we have called today for uh banning bylaw uh binding the fireworks and getting a law into place for such effect it actually struck something inside me and uh you know just just by history you know if you go into history banning anything outright has never worked has never ever worked if we are so concerned about ourselves our health our mental health our physical health let’s start with banning alcohol let’s start with banning weed let’s start with banning a lot of other things that actually cause a lot of other damage known damage researched well very well researched to damage to the human body and mental health uh but even that will never work because had it worked uh try banning alcohol and you will see the sale of illegal alcohol go up try banning weed you will see the sale of illegal weed going up try banning fireworks well you can complete the statement yourself right uh so living in Canada right uh land of multiculturalism now since I have said that word I would like to draw all of you know your attention to the multiculturalism act of 1988 of Canada that was brought into place precisely for this reason I’m going to read it out right so the Canadian Multiculturalism Act acknowledged multiculturalism as a fundamental characteristic of Canadian society with an integral role in shaping Canada’s future right underlying future the measures emphasize the right of all individuals to preserve and share share underlying their cultural heritage while retaining their rights to full and equitable participation in Canadian society while having read that I think it should not be even an option to go for option B of banning any anything at all let alone fireworks right we are living in a land of opportunities so where everybody is equal and everything is respected all the cultures are expected and banning this will just go you know we’ll just put a dent uh you know especially in uh on london cities council members Canada as a country as a whole that bans things that are culturally important to a vast amount of people I come from a country which has a tagline of Vasudeva kutumbukam which says the world is one family all of you are my family right and that’s where it comes in of sharing I want to share this culture with all of you and just banning anything will never work thank you so much pleasure pleasure pleasure to be here thank you time out for you um we missed your name if you just restate it for the record while it’s a long one belmanu rama krishna acharya I can spell it out yes please thank you I thought so bob echo lema mother alpha november november umbrella that’s the first word second word romeo alpha mother alpha kilo romeo indigo sugar hotel november alpha and the surname as acharya which means guru alpha charlie hotel alpha romeo yanki alpha thank you that was very impressive thank you and uh that’s just my cut down name for the passport my official name is belmanu toharek jaywijay vida vyas rama krishna acharya thank you I’d applaud for that but we’re not supposed to be applauding in the chambers um so thank you for that and thank you for choosing us for your first ever public participation meeting namaste um just to secure you in the front can you just use a mic I’m just was this a hand signal of like no more friends and chambers were full up oh perfect all our friends are here in the chambers so that’s even better we’ve all fit sorry that’s okay that’s okay i’m i’m a parent so usually i only know like no stop people in three or one oh they went back in okay that’s okay um friends we can roam it well that’s okay um so i’m going to go to the gentleman upstairs and then i will go to committee room one to the lady in red so you’ll be next up after the gentleman in the top row um your name and you have up to five minutes please proceed thank you madam chair and mare and committee members for allowing me to speak my name is jeff orchard and i’m speaking an option in favor of option b i would begin with the question um is the current way of doing things with respect to fireworks effective and would a greater good be achieved by banning the consumer sale of fireworks the answer to the first question is that the current setup is not working as evidenced by the volume of complaints about fireworks being set off at random times and places indiscriminately and uh as elected members of council um you have that challenge before you of course of addressing when something isn’t quite as it may be ought to be in an ideal situation um and for me the answer um um uh for the second question is yes a greater good could be achieved by the ban on the sale and use of consumer fireworks the effect on the environment wildlife pets and infant children is well documented what’s more there are precedents for such bans in neighboring municipalities such as brampton caladin and more recently woodstock and those bans are proving to be effective for me personally the day’s leading up to and following the victoria day long weekend in canada day long weekend my pet dog and i navigate a veritable minefield of discarded shells and remnants of fireworks in the park behind my house a park which ought to be ideally a place of refuge and peace i picked those shells up um being a good citizen and uh put them in the garbage um the community um ought to celebrate but for my neighbor from war torn syria who suffers from ptsd the effect of fireworks is more visceral his condition exacerbated by the indiscriminate explosive sounds in and around the neighborhood for my friend who was taken in a single mother and her daughter who sought refuge in canada and a more peaceful life after fleeing the ukraine the daughter quakes in fear at the sounds and explosiveness of fireworks and the greater good would be achieved from a long time friend james who was autistic and who feels the need to lock himself in his room every july first and victoria day weekend option b allows consistent predictable days consideration could be considered uh more compensation could be considered in time allowed for small businesses to adjust to this new way of doing things so by all means celebrate there are many creative ways to do so but let the random explosive sounds be let go and close in i thank you for your consideration on this matter and i ask that the mayor and committee members vote for option b thank you mr orchard i will note that your communication has been received as on page 112 of our um agenda for anyone wishing to follow up and read it i will also note that the mayor has joined us virtually um i’m going to go to the the lady in red and committee room one first but to the next um speakers in the gallery if the microphone isn’t at the right height feel free to wrestle with it and you can take it right off that stand if that works better for you or angle it you you do what you need to do um so committee room one your name please and you have up to five minutes okay thank you my name is mary blash and i’d like to start with a couple of comments or question actually when i was listening to the staff report i mentioned having three days can potentially where fireworks would be allowed canada day victoria day which are currently allowed and then possibly adding dewali and saying three days but of course dewali is a multi-day festival and so if you just say one of those days i think that would have to be clarified because i’m sure everyone would have the same question i do which is which of the days um the other comment i wanted to make was in today’s london free press i wanted to draw to your attention that there is an article there about a barn fire that resulted in a million dollars worth of damage and it was determined that the cause of the fire was firework of the fire the cause of the fire to the bone was fireworks so if you haven’t seen that article i wanted to draw to your attention and what i’d like to do now is switch gears and speak as the vice chair of the city’s animal welfare advisory committee and we did give you a report which is in your packet and hopefully you’ve read that and if you haven’t it’s in your packet um but i’d like to start off with that by saying that the committee’s mandate is animal welfare and so we limited our comments to the impact of fireworks on animals but we do recognize that there’s a lot of um other issues with fireworks but in um looking at the impacts on animals we do recommend that you follow option b and um end the sale and use of backyard fireworks um uh with and we have some additional recommendations with that we think that’s consistent with existing city policies speaker before me mentioned being a bird friendly city which is true also the strategic plan um which uh under says that london london continues its efforts to promote animal welfare including companion pets and wild animals and also i’d like to draw your attention to the humane animal wildlife conflict policy that states that the city is committed to upholding high standards of animal welfare including the humane treatment of wildlife and you know i heard a couple of comments that well if it impacts animals that’s just kind of a kind of something we have to accept and that isn’t consistent with city policy um we are fortunate on the committee to have a kendra culture who’s a professor at here on who has researched the issue of fireworks and animals and published in that area and our report does uh link to her article and we also consulted with um wildlife rehabilitators uh as well as the animal welfare committee for the city of arshua and what we found out is initially initially with pets with dogs and cats the usual advices will prepare them take them inside sedate them put them in a calm place that’s only possible with notice if fireworks are just going off in people’s backyards at any time at random times then there’s no way that you can take some kind of proactive action and it’s only by saying no more to that that we can protect these animals with wildlife of course there’s no way to give them notice so we really have to look at mitigating the effects and what we found out when we did the research from the wildlife rehabilitators is that they consistently get an increase in calls and in animals coming in after a fireworks event that animals will flee and will they would and often not make their way back to a nest so there’s a lot of orphaned animals that are brought into rehabilitation centers there’s also adult animals that are in the when they bolt run into the street and get hit by a car so they do see these numbers going up and 30 seconds the effect is well documented well also prey animals will have something called cardiomyopathy they’ll often just die from the stress so we do have some additional recommendations there we’ll try to get through that quickly and also draw your attention to the city of Oshawa’s animal welfare report that goes into great detail to the effects of pollution that lands in the water and affects aquatic wildlife um if i could just have 30 seconds to finish i cannot allow an extra 30 seconds or other guests before you would allow them to just ask you to look at the additional recommendations thank you for that and for joining us and i will note as she mentioned as a member of the animal welfare community advisory committee that corresponds is in our package as she noted on page five with the information the recommendation being be and other information on its effect on wildlife and family pets um thank you for that i’m going to two people in uh chambers then i’ll go back to committee room one um so i’m going to go up here if you’re fine seeing your name and then you have up to five minutes thank you namaste madam chair my name is rahi patel and i’m in support of option a i am 15 years old and have lived in london for the majority of my life as a hindu youth i simply cannot imagine the valley without the backyard fireworks and sparklers they have been a part of my whole childhood and me along with many hindu youth would be very disappointed in the city for implementing this law by law that’s all i’d like to say i kindly urge the members of the council and the public to vote option a thank you for your time and consideration and thank you for coming and being with us tonight and putting this opportunity and publicly speak as it is sometimes very intimidating so congratulations and you did very well um i’m going to go up to the on this side you please state your name you have up to five minutes hey my name is rick and i’m a london resident regulation of fireworks allowed for the control of fireworks the ban will cause those who still want fireworks or the product sorry i’m just going to ask for you just move the mic down a little bit just want to make sure that it picks it up for those on um join us virtually can hear you too hey my name is rick i’m a resident of london regulation of fireworks allowed for the control of fireworks the ban will cause those who still want to use the product turn into a black market the black market contains products that are currently banned from the erd and people will end up using them if they are not purchased from a regulator source right now sales are banned outside of 14 days a year in london as we hear complaints of random uses of fireworks going off all year around those products are not purchased in london those who wish can go on google out of the city of london and go purchase fireworks and they can be shipped to your house right away in branton they have banned fireworks twice before old times they reverted the ban and the bylaw for the fireworks the reason for this is fireworks were banned from the instance when the fireworks got banned the incidents went up complaints went up the city could not handle the fireworks coming to the city limits from all settlements once about these and van ku worked they have been banned and as well they’ve been seeing more complaints as black market for fireworks is not they’re having since the regulator stores have been shut down unregulated products create more issues and they’re louder as they’re not regulated by the erd the ban’s not going to solve this issue brought to the table and here thank you i will go to committee room one to the gentleman at the microphone hey thank you my name is jeff robinson i’m in support of option b i just want to give you a little background uh my family uh before 2017 was you know uh fully in favor of fireworks um we we had a backyard gathering every canada day neighbors came over uh barbeque entertainment uh complete with fireworks um 2017 i got a new puppy whippet named gordie and uh that changed my perspective on on this issue um my wife my daughter and i uh spend most every long weekend in the summertime in our basement with our terrified whippet uh who’s shaking and panting and as the fireworks go off um you know since then i’ve i’ve done some research on fireworks and and seeing the harm to not only domestic pets like my gordie um but wildlife you know i i’m supportive of all the speakers here that have spoke about that with their expertise people with disabilities um where these uh fireworks exasperate their conditions um you know i i i sympathize with with the religious argument that we’ve heard here today but i just don’t think you know backyard fun or or religious beliefs uh outweigh the harm that’s caused to wildlife the environment the toxins that go in the air in the soil in the water um yeah and and and our love domestic pets um so uh urge the council to support option b thank you thank you um i will say like i know there’s some people who’ve already spoken you can only speak one so i’m just gonna be clear about that um who are still with us some people who heard just listening but if you want to speak or you’re interested can i just just in those in chambers can i just see who’s interested maybe still speaking okay perfect so if i’m gonna go to committee room one there’s a person lined up and then if i’ll go to the person up top and then if people can start position themselves at the mic i think we might only have like six or eight people left just to give you an idea of where we’re at in this process so committee room one please proceed yes or that would be the you don’t know what we’re room you’re in the wonderful person the microphone you’re great all right uh good evening madam chair and uh counselor fellow counselors and my fellow community members uh my name is uh vichal kotari i’m the president at the Hindu cultural center here which is the Hindu temple in London, Ontario at 62 charter house crescent and i’m representing of course the entire Hindu community over here um i’m basically as we’ve all heard from my fellow community members i’m not going to go too much into detail but i just urge to my fellow counselors and madam chair to take into consideration option a as that has a significant impact on the valley which is one of the most important religion in india and for the Hindu community um fireworks without this festival um is very hard on kids and the upcoming generation we do want to continue that and uh of course in a very secured manner and i think that’s one of the things as a community we do try to teach and um basically give knowledge to our kids as to how respectful and in what manner they need to make use of any sort of fireworks on that note once again i just wanted to urge the entire council to take into consideration option a and move for option a thank you and namaste thank you namaste and for being with us i’m going to go to the top back um your name and you have up to five minutes my name is maria and jack bleach can you hear me okay a little bit louder would be perfect my name is maria and jack bleach um i’m here to support option b but um i want to say good evening to you madam chair and to the council members and as well to everyone is participating i did speak to people just recently about dwellie and and the celebrations because i see the passion and the importance to your community and i learned that basically sparklers and smaller fireworks are used not the ones that allowed bang crashing terrible things that are upsetting us all so i would ask for an amendment that definitely fireworks should be categorized into those that are non-invasive and those that are and definitely um for the people who are here representing um the dwellie celebrations that they be considered for for those fireworks um i’ve always supported fireworks on certain days however the situation has become untenable in my area that i live in north london for the past five years we are having fireworks going off night and day no matter when and i i’m not a person who gets distressed but i can tell you when i see my three cats and dog just fly out of the room and they hide i don’t sometimes see them for three hours that is very very distressing to me and i’m specifically wanting to address those fireworks not the regulated ones um i think basically people are feeling free to let of fireworks whenever they want to because enforcement is not there and that’s a big problem because then it’s just like a suggestion it’s not a bylaw it’s a suggested bylaw then i also know that we are all triggered by loud sounds and smells and this is why i find the random fireworks going off so distressing for myself who does not have PTSD i cannot imagine those who do how they would be feeling so i really think we need to consider option b at the moment but considering also the lesser fireworks that aren’t isn’t invasive and i i want to say my point is beautifully illustrated when i posted about this meeting on my neighborhood facebook post i got a response that said this is a waste of time and resources if you band backyard fireworks i’ll just take my fireworks and shoot them off in my front yard i risk my case thank you for that point it was just all personal fireworks versus backyard versus front yard versus side yard uh noted um i’m going to go to the front microphone here and then we’ll go back to committee room one uh your name and you have up to five minutes thank you hello my name is luchana lareda sorry it was the lady um who’s been staying front no don’t write there’s there’s gonna be a turn for no it no you take your turn um and there’s gonna be turns for everybody okay thank you madam chair if you just adjust a little bit yeah you should be able to just just grab it like this yeah that works too thank you so much thank you madam chair and the council members for giving me this opportunity my name is ashwarya gopalakrishnan i can spell it out for you later on and i’m a long time london resident my family and i are law abiding and tax paying citizens i just want to keep it concise and say that please consider the sentiments of so many Hindus with i mean i would just say that considering the sentiment of so many Hindus with Diwali the different analogies given by my friends earlier i request you all to choose option a and uh you know as my friend earlier said most of us are really law abiding and we keep fireworks to the minimal just sparkles or fire flower pot to the max and we are also proud canadians for canada day uh we don our flags high we really like celebrating canada day and i would just urge you all to please respect human sentiment before suggesting to change our ages old traditions which was a bit hurtful to hear earlier and thank you again for hearing me today back to you thank you and the clerk did indicate if you could spell your name it would be appreciated oh sure my name is ashwarya gopalakrishnan i y s h w a r y a that’s my first name and the last name is g o p a l a k r i s h n a n thank you thank you very much for that i’m going to committee room one next to the resident wearing at the microphone and then i’m going to go up top okay can you hear me well we can hear you perfectly okay good i’ll start my name is dirkah proud and i submitted a letter in favor of option b and um i want to say a few things before i get into some things that i didn’t say in the letter and some that i did it’s that first of all um i can see that the people who crafted this new um firework options did take into account to duality currently if you are setting off backyard fireworks on duality that is illegal because there’s no provision outside of victoria day and canada day to do backyard fireworks um but this uh revised fireworks plan does include the option of including the wallie uh in the celebrations even if option b is uh um selected i think it could be used in a public permit um so i just want to make people aware of that i got a lot of joy out of public fireworks particularly as a child but now that this attend this issue has been brought to my attention i um not in favor of us continuing with fireworks because of the effect on the environment on wildlife and also on people one of the things that disturbed me was the amount of children that are hurt by fireworks um in the united states the u.s. consumer product safety commission found that 11,500 children were treated in american emergency rooms due to firework related injuries so this is something i want to bring to counsel and committee that one of the things you should consider doing now in advance of any new bylaw coming in is do a public education um series because it’s obvious that people don’t know that they’re not supposed to be setting off fireworks in their backyard and duality for example or any other time they are probably already buying illegal fireworks and they’re probably not practicing safe practice fireworks handling with their children um a third of all children that go to a third of all the fireworks injuries in the u.s. our children so this is something that is a very concerning statistics to me in today’s um cbc and also the london free press there are articles about how fireworks affect our environment air water and soil and i suggest that everyone in attendance and and viewing online read those articles um we have to think about the future i spoke about children there are one manifestation of our future but this the environment will be there and it needs to nurture and take care of us for many years into the future and these are the reasons why i support option b again i want to reiterate the importance of education that is something that we can do right now to help stem this epidemic of um illegal firework use outside of sanction times and there are many low noise and quiet and safe for alternatives that are available not just to individuals but also to the city so i ask this be considered by the committee as well thank you for your your time thank you miss prout and your communication is public and on this agenda and to be found on page 115 for anyone who would like to follow up with that information i’m going to go um i’m just gonna ask is there anybody else in committee room one who um is there to speak no okay so we cleared up our speakers list there so just for everyone knows it’s just who’s in the microphones here in chambers this is our current speaker’s list so i’m going to go to the top back first and then to you in the front hello my name is luchana Loretta pellezeri and i am a child of italian immigrants 58 years ago my family came to canada my mother with me in utero so i identify with the newer immigrants of the hindu um religion that are very afraid of losing their culture and i just want to assure you that i i want to help you retain your culture you’re not going to lose it it’s going to be great um on the topic of fireworks i want to say that as we move forward into the future together as a multicultural community that we need to more than ever be considerate to each other and the needs of other people and i think all of our religions um hold the tenet of do unto others whether you’re Hindu, Buddhist, Tibetan, Christian, Hebrew we all have that and that’s what we need to keep in our hearts that we all go forward together happily so we can’t be happy unless we’re all happy together when our daughter was a toddler we taught we taught her that if you’re doing something that you think is fun are all your friends having fun too or is it just fun for you so we we have to rule that as adults too that we can’t have fun at the expense of others so going forward with a spirit of hope and goodness that the light will indeed conquer the darkness let us creatively think together of different ways that we can express light bringing light into the darkness and i want to tell one final story if i have time on Canada Day my husband and i were in Winnipeg and we had the fortune of experiencing a 100 drone beautiful show that was put on at the forks of the two rivers and it was brilliant colorful created by a Cree astronomer and narrated by a Cree astronomer and i can’t even tell you how much i think that was a symbol of healing for our culture and our problems with our First Nations people that just opened our hearts and made us feel at peace and it was 10 minutes of silence except for one beautiful storyteller’s voice so i just want to say thank you to our counselors and everyone who are struggling with this issue and please vote for option B so that we can go forward together and figure out a way that the Hindus can celebrate Diwali and we can all have peace and quiet in our neighborhoods thank you very much thank you to the speaker in the front madam chair members of the council and community members thank you for giving me this opportunity to express my views a lot has been said about the religious and the cultural aspect so i’ll spare you those thoughts but i do empathize with my fellow community members who are pet advocates who are climate change enthusiasts i think a lot of their concerns that i hear today are from fireworks going off night and day at random times disappointed perhaps they are a lot disappointment with the lack of support from the law enforcement authorities banning something isn’t a solution to a problem regulating it is a right solution according to me option a is the right step towards regulating this problem i would urge the consil to consider perhaps reducing the Rs from dusk to 10 pm can be a solution ensuring that the law enforcement authorities are equipped with the right tools to ensure that these regulations are established are enforced correctly i am a law abiding citizen i want to enjoy my festivals but in legal terms if it is regulated it gives me a right platform to express my views and enjoy my festivals option a dear consil members i want your attention here that option a also gives also focuses on decreasing the number of days allowed to sell fireworks from seven days to five days it also focuses on increasing the current fines this according to me are right steps toward regulating fireworks which will essentially would be probably be welcomed by the other groups as well who have problems with fireworks at random times fireworks late at night if we ensure that the fines are increased and the law is enforced i’m sure everyone would be able to enjoy fireworks in a much safer place thank you so much thank you and before you get too far may i have your name sorry um it can you spell it for you s o u r a b h last name s a y a r e thank you so much thank you so much for those words tonight um i will just Councillor Hopkins has joined us virtually um and just for Councillor Hopkins we are still in the public participation meeting though probably about five um residents from being concluded before we open up our committee debate um so going to the gentleman in the top and then down in the front my name is Rick Miles i’ve been a resident of london my entire life um and i’ll tell you one of the biggest things you really need to do is education because currently as far as i can understand it on these bills we’re talking about sparklers are already allowed nothing’s going to change there uh i’ve heard tonight that people are upset that we’re going to take away backyard fireworks from Diwali except i’ve also heard tonight that there haven’t been back where the backyard fireworks for Diwali for years we need a little bit more clarity that said if we have permitted fireworks i don’t see so much of an issue with that as it stands we’re allowing the sale of fireworks and people do not abide by the dates uh i i hear it’s only three days a year well what was last friday because i had fireworks going off outside my building at 12 30 in the morning and my cat was freaking out uh it’s not acceptable uh we were looking at environmental issues our country was literally on fire and we’re still talking about putting on fireworks why i mean option b is the best option you’re giving us it’s the only real option you’re giving us because option a isn’t going to be enforced the same as the currently the bylaws not enforced option b at least we get something until we can get to the point of drone shows and lasers because fireworks are way in the past it’s time to move on thank you um to the speaker in the front uh hi there my name is Sarah Twilly um i am supporting option a i work for a fireworks company i’m a licensed pyrotechnician i am also a teacher that’s my day gig um so speaking from the education standpoint uh at the point of sale at when we sell a firework that is when we educate people that is when we tell them this is how you safely light it this is who can and can’t be near it this is the space you need this is what needs to be around you how many trees are in your neighborhood that kind of thing we ask all these questions when we help people choose a firework so we make sure they are having the safest time and we also make sure they are doing it safely and respectfully um also just as a side note uh my brother has autism and just anecdotally he loves fireworks he attends all my shows uh he comes he’s very excited he takes pictures he calls me after and tells me how great it is so i realize one person with autism is one person with autism but uh we are speaking generally about people with autism and i do have again one person in my life with autism who loves fireworks thank you thank you for sharing that perspective and lived experience um you have up to five minutes and please state your name my name is turkish for tivari sorry before you get started um if you could spell it for the community clerk that’d be appreciated too it doesn’t count for your time okay d-u-r-g-e-s-h-w-a-r-durgeshwar and last name is tivari thank you uh namaste ladies and gentlemen and respected council members and a lot of friends here um thank you so much for joining today i’m honored to discuss the the connection between the fireworks and role as a priest i’m a priest in the priest 18 years in london nine years in malaysia and singapore that i have enjoyed fireworks since i was four and i use firework too much but in a safe way cultural as a priest in our cultural and spiritual sorry my eyes are giving up now uh tapestry the fireworks holds a very sacred place in our lives it is a divine in my opinion the priest as a priest i play a pivotal role nurturing the connection between the human being it is our rich in the tradition priests are not merely just there to stand they are here to provide the service and help the community members and have a many ceremonies when it comes to the festival like bivali the bullies of fireworks serve the visual representation of our reverence and offering the light to the god symbolizes that devotion and gratitude the captivating and spectacle uh the fireworks during the religious festival aligned with our teachings of our scriptures just as we light the d as to eliminate the darkness uh eliminate the and expel the darkness we light the firework to eliminate the hearts with the joy illuminates our spiritual journey the visual delight uh visual delight connects us and transcendental realm remaining as it reminding us our eternal quest to the knowledge and enlightenment in conclusion firework when guided with the wisdom of priests like us we can continue to light up our lives with the meaning and purpose let us honor the their insight and expertise as we navigate the path toward a harmonious coexistence of our cherished tradition and our commitment to the better environment i love all the animals and i am pure vegetarians vegetarian i don’t harm and don’t discriminate between goat or other uh stuff harion and mamaste i just want to um take one minute of silence as we have heard that many fire and many other things happen i will take a one second or like 30 seconds of silence to all those souls have been lost oh shanti shanti shanti i propose and go for absent option a thank you going to the front on this side hi my name is john pates uh excuse me because i’m feeling kind of nervous don’t be we’re usually pretty friendly um you have up to five minutes and take your time all right first off i’d i’d like to say that i’ve heard an awful lot of people complain about our current bylaw being unclear our current bylaw if you read it bother to read it is very very very clear you’re allowed to set off fireworks three nights a year that’s it you’re allowed to sell them seven nights per event that’s it now i’ll get on with what i prepared my initial reaction to this proposal is that there are only two options an option to make no change was not put forth i was forced to vote for option a if i want to see consumer fireworks continue at all i’m not in favor of changing the bylaw unless that changes to create a clause which allows for fireworks to be discharged in large open public spaces instead of just backyards i would like to see that done with an issue permitted for a regular person like me not a professional to set them off in that space that would also allow a chain of responsibility for cleanup they would know who is setting off the fireworks there uh i would also like to see a change to and get it getting rid of the saturday before or the saturday after candidate a set a date after to allow for a rain date uh that would make defining candidate as a rain date date would have an understandable reason for discharging fireworks on a date other than candidate would also possibly reduce the nuisance complaints to the city’s emergency services the current proposal seemed to be designated oh sorry and seeing the turnout and listening to people adding the wallie to our current bylaw should also be done the current proposal seemed designed to only allow for option b the banning of consumer fireworks as a workable solution how is this a fair or reasonable process the reasons for or against fireworks can be argued forever to no resolve this changing the bylaw to option a solve this my view is no it definitely does not decreasing the number of allowable days for the sale of fireworks in no way enhances the safety of fireworks or decreases their illegal use it only creates a tighter local buying schedule adding to all the is also is only a false olive branch option a has been put forth as it has been put forth is just not a reasonable option not allowing for a rain date would force legal fireworks purchases to be stored in a buyer’s home until the next celebrated day i can’t see the fire department or insurance companies being very happy with that scenario again this makes option a unreasonable many communities not far from within have sales dates that extend beyond london’s so the contraband abuse would still continue all summer this again makes option a unreasonable the proposed changes do not guarantee that the nuisance events will end they will sadly most likely increase as then the offense will be far more exciting the nuisance calls will continue and the level of response expected by the complainant will be increased once again option a is unreasonable simply put enforcement of this issue whether band or not is impossible considering fire safety and or public safety on the city of london’s website in the community and protective services tab fireworks are not even mentioned as a cause of preventable fires common lists do not even put fireworks in the top 10 the only product even remotely similar to fireworks is candles london has banned them for open use in restaurants but not in the private home they are universally high on all the lists that i could find in fact it is estimated that in canada between 1999 and 2008 candles were responsible for an average of eight fire deaths a hundred and fifteen injuries and two points 26.2 million in property damage each year why is a sale in use of fireworks not being brought up for an important life-saving by-law change is it because no one is calling our counselors to complain about loud birthday parties and dispatching the fire partner to blow up candles i know this sounds ridiculous but the hazard is far more real to make sure i’m being fair here between april first of 2011 and april the thirteenth of 2023 there were 210 reported cases of injuries related to fireworks and other similar products these are hospital figures by the way 30 seconds oh jeez that’s 17.5 injuries per year across canada that represents 0.011 percent of injuries as a cultural heritage activity fireworks were used to celebrate the established establishment of the british north america act on july the first 1867 that is about a Canadian tradition as we get i’ve heard a lot of people talk about PTSD one of my neighbors suffers for came out and thanked me for celebrating such a great thing so can’t convince me of that one thank you you’re at your five minutes thank you and you did great for being nervous and in front of us today and i hope to see you again in another public participation meaning that you’re passionate about um please proceed with your name and you have up to five minutes hi my name is marjana gorski i actually did not plan on speaking today but hearing all of you speak uh there are three main points that i want to address that is personal to me and the first one being about autism so i ran the autism programming for oxford county for about five years and absolutely um the lady that spoke about her um autistic brother i think yeah i think that’s amazing that he loves fireworks and is not afraid of the noise um unfortunately a lot of the students on my program were super um sensitive to sound one big example of that is i do remember clearly on canada uh day one of the moms calling me frantically um it was a day that was i was at home and the parents often called and for advice during the summer had welds on the side of his head because he was hitting his head so hard due to that noise so we don’t hear of these stories often and people like me do experience and see firsthand what i can do um they actually had to have a helmet on his head during those days so you know that is not a pleasant thing for a parent to go through as well as a child to go through secondly i am uh and an immigrant that came here from poland and i was nine years old when i came here in the eighties so i did experience communism i experienced um shotguns and uh the noises i don’t have PTSD i do have family members that do have it uh so for me to hear somebody say oh just you know another noise should not affect them i mean they already have you know jitters and they already have all these things i like i don’t i really don’t think that’s fair to say um when you have a family member that goes through that um and finally i do have a very close friend who spoke today that does work for sal taven and i often hear uh her saying that animals do during these times of noise do flee into the streets get hit by cars get um impounded into fences that are pointy those different things that you don’t hear about as well so i just want you to hear firsthand of stories that i’ve experienced and heard thank you and thank you for bringing your perspective and choosing to speak today um i’ve known at the microphone in the committee room so thank you and so if you’re interested in speaking it really is just come up to a microphone at this point um and you can only speak once so please state your name and you have up to five minutes also very nice and you’re you’re great we’re friendly regardless of what we’re sorry we’re on we appreciate your insights keep that mind okay hello my name is back at amadola co-founder of londoners for quiet fireworks i want to begin by addressing the individuals in the room who are here to speak in favor of option a and continuing consumer fireworks i want to be clear that i am not here as a hater of fun but as someone who cares deeply and compassionately not only for the environment but for your children and for your own wellness this isn’t about me this is about us this is about our collective future we are not trying to attack any particular culture by asking for a consumer ban on that front please take note that we have been pursuing this issue for over two years whereas the hindu community has only just started participating once dewali was introduced with an option a this is not about attacking them or any other community the fact is fireworks have become a growing public safety issue not just because the contents of fireworks are toxic but because we are now seeing multiple cases of fireworks used as weapons weapons that literally anyone of any age can buy at any time from places like bobs fireworks which is a london business that sells fireworks year-round regardless of whether it’s canada day victoria day or the middle of february sorry i’m just going to caution about calling out specific vendors as i will have to really out of order no worries you guys already have the email um but it’s true that they have been uh there are businesses in the city that are violating current uh current bylaws um that are that are stating that we’re only allowed to set off fireworks um on those two holidays they are willingly selling these fireworks and hand-delivering them to people all year round choosing option b would remove any misunderstanding these businesses might claim to have regarding their ability to sell fireworks to untrained individuals it’s also important to note that some have it suggested a drop in fireworks violation complaints post-pandemic but our group collectively gathered over a hundred complaints regarding violations between may and august of this year the graph showing this data can be seen referenced in the letter i submitted to the agenda another letter submitted to the agenda claimed that fireworks should be seen as a social fabric of london but i would argue that that can only be true for larger shows that are permit-based and bring in large crowds banning backyard fireworks could in fact generate the community benefits that many have outlined fireworks to have by strengthening and encouraging social connections by bringing people out of their private spaces and into the community where public permit shows are hosted with regard to some of the letters submitted i feel it’s important for council to take note of the attitudes of the two opposing groups that you are seeing today our group is presenting both personal stories and scientific research we are doing our best to present evidence while continuing to be respectful of the opposing groups right to participate whereas the opposing side has directly stated in some of their letters that our group isn’t worth consideration worse there are some individuals going so far as to threaten our well-being as you heard from my fellow co-founder diana despite this our group has continued to do our best to remain democratic and fair through this process i hope counselors will take note of that i know that some counselors are concerned that a consumer ban on fireworks will not be enforceable due to the lack of staff but the reality is the city lacks the staff to enforce the current by-law properly and implementing more restrictions as is proposed in option a won’t fix that violators don’t take the time to inform themselves regarding the days fireworks are actually permitted nor do they inform themselves that current by-law states you cannot set fireworks off in parks streets lane squares or any public space without a permit but by implementing option b there will no longer be any questions all parties interested in hosting a fireworks show will have to go through the permit system and even though we can expect some to violate the band and purchase outside the city the band will still massively cut down on impulse purchases of fireworks thus it’s arguable that the band would reduce the need for enforcement the desire to end consumer fireworks sales isn’t about stopping celebrations or even stopping fireworks but rather a call to improve safety standards by leaving fireworks to the professionals and reducing the environmental footprint of the city by cutting out unnecessary private shows for counselors concerned about the increased cost that neighborhood groups trying to host their own professional shows may face through this proposed permit system i think that could be easily overcome by allowing um allowing these groups additional neighborhood small events funding specific specific for hosting fireworks shows for the holiday 30 seconds in conclusion i urge you to adopt option b and ban all consumer fireworks to prioritize the safety and quality of life for londoners now and londoners in the future thank you for this opportunity to speak thank you i will note that your communication has been received and it’s on page 73 and the quiet fireworks for london petition has been delivered uh in hard copy and also is on page 115 of our agenda looking to the gallery to see if anyone else wishes to speak because once we close the public participation meeting you’ll have to submit your comments in writing last call you want to take your whole five minutes no regrets this is it okay seeing no one in committee room no one online and no one at our microphones in chamber looking to committee to close the public participation meeting moved by counselor ferris seconded by counselor provol um the votes in the system calling the question hosting the vote the motion carries five to zero thank you so now that we’ve received uh the public public’s information and you’ve had an overview by staff just for the public you’re you’re free to go you’re free to stay uh everything’s recorded and captured on youtube you could watch it if you need to go i know we’ve already been here for a while or you’re welcome to stay um at this point there’ll be no questions to the gallery so we won’t be calling on you um i’ll open it up to colleagues this is the time at which we will either make a motion ask questions of staff ideally we get something on the floor and have it as a point of direction i will note as well that there was a communication sent um to all of council recognizing that the committee chairs have undergone more training with the city clerks of how to proceed with our business more efficiently i will be trying to keep us to our five minutes of speaking time realizing you can speak multiple times but trying to keep us within that five when something is on the floor so looking to committee to see your direction sir Ferra thank you through um i was hoping to kick off the discussion yeah um miss smith could just remind us what staff you have available for all committees questions and i will acknowledge i tend to take committee’s questions first and then online we do have uh mayor morgan joining us and counselor hopkins as well and then i go to the visiting counselors miss smith thank you and i can help with some general questions mr katola here and is his area is is looks after the enforcement when it’s based on a noise complaint and also looks after the sale of fireworks and behind me is uh acting chief hays and uh deputy deputy chief heptis deputy heptis London fire department so both uh work on the permanent so if you question about permit displays also both complaints they can speak to the enforcement side as it applies to the london fire department and the calls they receive thank you i’ll also note that deputy mayor luis is um with us online as well uh counselor prefer please proceed with your questions thank you through you um i’m going to start with uh i guess just some questions just to know just to clarify the direction of where this report is going so i want to go to the deputy city manager i’m looking at sorry i not you’re you got to move your mic you’re just really oh sorry they’re perfect so i just got some clarification questions i’m looking at the i want to ask the deputy city manager um so the recommendation here is it looks like the reports to be received and then directed in report and you’re going to report back so i just want to know we’re not making a decision today and to staff it to that point and then if other specific direction to you would be helpful thank you and through the chair we’re looking for a motion to come out of this meeting to direct staff to go forward and craft a by-law based on option a or option b or whatever additions you uh deem to choose to that that will then go to the next council meeting and based on council’s final decision we will come back probably by the end of this year with a draft by-law for your approval counselor for a follow-up thank you through you okay so um to all the delegates that spoke i i i hear i hear everybody of what you’re saying um from i just wanted to clarify just and i know this clarifications came up with what option b is looking at it’s not an outright ban it’s a ban to consumer fireworks to backyard fireworks so there would still be shows permitted shows allowed um with that option and also included into that option is the day of duality uh or duality celebration so we have that option in both and from what i understand we didn’t have um duality within the current by-law so i’ll go back to the deputy city manager just to clarify that mr thank you and through the chair permanent display fireworks that need require approval by the london fire department for every permit um pay a fee you get a permit to do a display um deputy fepditch can outline the details of that there they have to it has to be a professional display london fire department comes and inspects it all we uh support about 15 permits a year um that allows candidate lane bath harvest fast um bowler mountain often gets one for a celebration in the winter dewali chinese new year the city of london we do two new new year’s eve fireworks celebrations uh and we also do candidate a and many other candidates across the city so both option a and option b would allow that what option b does is it bans consumer fireworks so it would ban the sale of fireworks in london under you um and it would and it would also ban the use of consumer or we call backyard fireworks so the only fireworks that would be allowed would be through permitted displays would you like an answer from the fire staff about the permitted display process yes uh so a follow-up please thank you through the chair the permit is is submitted to the london fire department for review and approval um within that permit there are requirements through national resources canada under the explosives act that we need to ensure that are met um in that permit process it is fully reviewed by a qualified fire inspector and after that they go out onto the site to determine the safety uh if those measures that are listed within that permit are actually there on site so it’s it’s being checked by inspectors every permit that is issued we send out staff to ensure that it is correct okay counselor for thank you thank you for that and uh through you um so i see option b as a compromise i see it as a compromise for all the groups that have spoke today um there is i have significant concern with the wildlife myself um you know i have read and i’ve and i’ve been told and through discussion you know you have fawns waterfowl birds being separated from mothers or separated from family during these events and may not be reunited most likely they don’t get reunited i’ve heard stories of animals possibly running out across the street um and getting hit by cars and i have my pets myself who also have these issues so i’m concerned with that um and i live in the downtown ward ward 13 and you know just this weekend i had fireworks going off over like at two at midnight 1230 at night um waking me up and and others up as well and it is a consistent problem that happens over and over again i’m not sure how it is in other wards but in the downtown area it does happen and i know that there’s issues with enforcement because i’ve spoken with enforcement and the real issue is is a firework goes off or a display goes off how you’re supposed to get there in time there only they can only be a few minutes at a time it’s very hard to do that so i feel like enforcement is not enforcement’s a part of the the question but it’s not necessarily the answer it’s policy as far as i’m concerned policy is what’s going to help us here so speaking to that i think the most dangerous thing is is is just the danger of it these are explosive devices and people who are using them in the backyards are not necessarily qualified i understand that there’s some businesses that will give some training or some kind of just speak with individual consumers on how to appropriately handle these fireworks but that doesn’t happen across the board there’s some good businesses obviously in the room that do that but not all businesses do that so it’s the the fact that you have you know potentially dangerous items in the hands of individuals who may not be trained uh they may be you know having a good time partying with their family or friends they may be consuming alcohol there are situations there are issues that come up and i’m i’m very concerned with that so for me it comes to the issue of safety public safety i don’t want to see anybody get hit with a firework and get burned or or worse i don’t want to see anything like that and the reason why i’m asking about option b is because i’m going to support option b i see it as a compromise i see this as a direction of policy that will help us with our enforcement and will help us with the direction that london should go it doesn’t ban fireworks to any sorry counselor you mentioned option b you’re at four minutes just looking to see if you’re moving option b or i’m going to move option b okay uh we have a mover for option b looking to see if there’s a seconder for option b of anyone on committee let me speak to it still so um there’s so you’re within there’s no motion on the floor and actually nothing to be spoken to all right well i’m moving option b looking for a seconder i don’t believe you have one um i’m just checking online no so sorry counselor um looking to other community members then i really am looking for a motion hit on the floor regardless if we’re going to support or not it’ll just direct the conversation and as always we can pull it apart vote on things separate as we want to and then once again for those in the gallery realizing some of you came throughout the long process this is just committee’s decision and our recommendation to council act council every member of council will have their say and to uphold or overturn or amend the motions that are made tonight counselor roman thank you and through you chair um to help to uh container discussion i’d like to move option a and uh look to the committee for a seconder before i speak to it okay so someone’s looking to put motion a on the floor looking to see if there’s a seconder of motion a there is so it’s moved by counselor roman seconded by counselor provol so that puts option a on the floor that staff had read out for you at the beginning we will now start debate on option a that is on the floor looking to start my speaker’s list counselor roman thank you and i appreciate the opportunity to speak to option a um i will say that i came into the discussion very much uh leaning towards option b and i i see the both sides of this argument and i see the reason and rationale behind uh different different viewpoints that have been presented tonight and have been shared uh by the community at great length and i want to say thank you for everyone that has reached out and taken the time to educate us to provide more information to spend that time sharing your own personal and lived experience um i did have some questions uh around option a if i may um and those questions relate to low noise fireworks and whether or not there could be and what kind of consideration we give to low noise fireworks my understanding is those between 70 decibels to 90 decibels things that might be categorized or known as spinners and fountains and lots of other names that i don’t know them all katherine wheels things like that um i’m just wondering what consideration if we’ve ever considered or looked at or if there’s a possibility within the bylaw to look at those different uh options thank you uh thank you to staff thank you through the chair um we’ve had conversations with uh fireworks and pyrotechnical pyro um technicians um according to them there are no actual quiet fireworks pyrotechnics are a little different than actual firework that’s being discharged into the air um pyrotechnics still require a uh a permit um however what i will say the sound of fireworks is regulated uh the decibels are regulated by health canada and those sound levels are set by health canada so any firework that is coming into canada is supposed to meet those regulations thank you counselor thank you um there’s been a lot of conversation around enforcement and the discussion around whether or not option a or option b uh addresses some of the concerns with enforcement uh and i’m not looking to put mr katolic on the spot here around any enforcement questions but uh i will say this is something that i know as a word counselor uh i have been struggling with in my word i do receive a number of calls um quite often outside of the window of time and the days of which we currently allow fireworks and uh i will say this is my first term on council so i’m sure there are many counselors here who have had many more calls than i have um but uh we do know that that enforcement does come up in this conversation quite a bit um i think with the current option a where we have some more tightening of restrictions around the days um how do we plan to enforce that and i know we plan to go out with more education first um but do you see any need for additional um staff or additional time that will be needed to be spent on enforcement mr katolic yes through the chair uh in reality it is a very difficult bylaw to enforce from a noise perspective and and a lot of the comments tonight touched upon those points the first thing is that when we get the complaints it’s usually like this is my address i’m hearing fireworks i’m not sure where they’re coming from they could be coming from the park down the street or possibly from that house so when we uh get the information that is coming from um public property we will attend that public property and attempts to identify where they’re coming from and even when we have when our two cars because we’re working in on pairs at night pull into the uh to the park uh usually the the folks scatter and then there’s the issue of evidence collection so even if we do see fireworks in a park and a bunch of individuals then there’s a difficulty of collecting the evidence of who actually is setting off the fireworks so six teenagers in a park who’s setting them off we we can’t see it so that that charge will will go nowhere if it’s on private property and we do get the address then it’s very simple to uh because the property owner is uh responsible for noise emanating from their property it’s very simple to enforce we can charge the property owner we charge property owners now for other forms of noise but for fireworks we’re not getting that information from the public and this isn’t a London problem i’ve been talking other municipalities including Brampton this is a typical noise problem to enforce uh over the year as you know we have taken over noise enforcement from London police we’ve responded to around 1200 noise complaints seven of those were respects to fireworks so it’s not a high complaint we’re getting and uh i would agree that a lot of people aren’t calling in the complaints because they don’t have enough information to provide to the London police who triage all our calls because fireworks they they could sound like shotguns as well so their London police are triaging the calls but without specific information on the property where the noise is emanating from uh very difficult thank you and my final question just relates to the process by which we’ve engaged so i do get a sense that there is frustration or concern from members of particular the the Hindu community the Sikh community the Jain community the Buddhist community around the fact that uh during this process of having this discussion the consultation that was taken or not undertaken with the community so i’m just wondering perhaps if we can speak to that a bit um what that what that process has looked like and i know i’ve spent some time speaking with members of the community about the that that this was council you know looking at the bylaw and and and that this option A option B is is not staff pushing a direction it is presenting different options which i think is really important and it is to frame a conversation but again that conversation then can be broadened within the scope of A or B so i just want to see if you might be able to to speak to that i know it’s a sensitive point um so thought i’d ask that question through the chair thank you thank you to staff thank you and through the chair we went out in 2022 with engagement and at that time it was done online through our online survey and through get involved we uh shared that out through paid media through social media we sent it to a variety of our networks through the different service areas through the environmental network child and youth age-friendly London the London Middlesexland limb lip and a variety of other networks through um our anti-racist and anti-oppression division however it’s uh again we did not go out into face-to-face at the time we just did our open survey regarding that we also did a local provincial municipal scan and that is one of the reasons when we looked at other municipalities that we actually built a duality into our our option a based on what we heard and based on our municipal scan thank you and as we are trying our new system of speaking to our five minutes you’re at 345 um looking to other community members who want to speak at this at the moment i’m trying to hold my comments to the end um deputy member Lewis i believe you don’t hand up and i will also be timing you for your five minutes that’s okay i’m not going to use my whole five minutes at this point in time i will say i’m generally supportive of pursuing option a but through you madam chair i have a couple questions for our staff um the uh enforcement question has come up a little bit already um through you to mr katolic or another member of our team i know that we use this for other by-law tracking do we use keep mapping to identify places that are annually regularly sources of complaints so for example i’ve heard in my word it’s always JP robert school um is that heat mapped uh in terms of our planning for where enforcement may be deployed on a night when fireworks are are permitted or on a weekend a long weekend particularly where fireworks are permitted mr katolic yes through the chair because we’ve had very uh a low volume of complaints for fireworks since we’ve taken over noise enforcement from London police we have not but what we have done during the uh the long weekends where fireworks are permitted so it’s before and after those long weekends we spread out we partner with London police and we spread out through the city that way we we know if we’re not quadrant we’ll get to that location quicker than just kind of driving around and doing other things that we do uh in the evenings deputy mayor and oh sorry mr smith wants to add to that mr smith sorry and through the chair and and on top of that fire we’ve done the same thing with fire inspectors um working in and we keep track of those parks of those areas where the previous year or the previous victoria day for example so for Canada day we look at and we do the same thing where we have patrols driving around and um in those quote unquote hotspot areas that we are aware of from past complaints deputy mayor uh thank you so that’s helpful and and I think what i’m hearing is that there would also be a willingness to receive whether through counselors or through members of the public uh complaints or tips about where hotspots might uh be so i appreciate that um the licensing portion of this bylaw um i understand that there are some exemptions uh organizations for example not-for-profits or charitable organizations uh that do not require a license uh and i ask staff if they can provide a rationale as for why we are allowing uh an operator to or a uh sales of fireworks that do not require a license yeah uh and thank you to staff as i’ve had this conversation as well with mr katolic just distributors that how many we have and then if the bigger box retailers are excluded and the not-for-profit charities yes thank you and through the chair uh it’s just based on past decisions of council so previous councils have asked and have given direction to staff to exempt non-profits from selling fireworks previous councils have exempted big box of bricks and mortar stores so we currently only license under their seasonal sales category in the business licensing bylaw and this year we’ve licensed uh 20 locations the license fee is 445 dollars it’s a rather easy bylaw to enforce because we know where the location is so if somebody’s selling after the fact it’s very easy to go there and and uh playing clothes and try to purchase fireworks in fact we had a complaint yesterday and we went out uh invalid complaint we were not able they’re not selling fireworks at at a certain convenience store so those types of uh enforcement issues are quite easy to enforce and for clarity i’m assuming that you’re in playing clothes but not a city of London truck okay i had no on that one just making sure um yes please add your information to this discussion thank you through the chair i will note though um the the not not for profit organizations they do not pay the fee for a fireworks permit however they still do need to submit the fireworks permit and the on-site inspection does take place thank you so the permitting fee is waived but they still have to apply and do the paperwork thank you for that clarification deputy mayor Lewis thank you i do appreciate that clarification um i’m not a member of the committee so i can’t move it but while i do support where councilor ramen and and others have indicated they’re going um i i do think that um we need to revisit why we’re allowing organizations not for profit or otherwise to have an exemption on the distribution license um i think that that um also creates some restrictions for those sort of um sales that maybe are not being as careful about handing out information and other things because it’s oh it’s for a good cause and maybe sometimes it even causes people to overbuy i appreciate the the permit fee being waived by the fire i will say that you know i’ve heard about money and cost to the city on things um the fireworks that are produced in east london um that’s not city money that’s the optimist club and the business association and others putting in their money to to pay for that fireworks show um and so for them uh you know i appreciate the the permit fee being waived um and i also would say that you know converting to something that has to be stored and programmed and and reused year after year is not something that they’re waiting often interested in doing i’ve heard that myself so um i would encourage committee members and counselors who are listening in to consider whether or not some license exemptions need to be removed from the bylaw as well but uh i’m generally supportive of a and and continuing to listen uh to what folks have to say but i think that exempting organizations from having to have a license to to have retail sales is not something that we should be encouraging it’s just not a fair playing field for those who have to get a license okay sorry and just for clarification were you including the not-for-profits with the exemption that no exemptions for the exemptions okay um thank you as the night grows on and your chair does have a concussion i appreciate your patience with me um i do have wording provided of amendment other whatnots um looking to see if council approval like to go first like before me that’s fine do i go for you can speak or i have wording i can throw it out there but i’m happy okay no i might as well speak then uh as i already second uh option a i’m in support of eighth of course uh since June 13th when we had a meeting i had many many conversations with the ward five residents and uh many other Londoners and yes it’s i’m not basing it on my personal views only it is really a vast support of the people that i have been in contact with having said that i do believe that we can create much better and more efficient controlled environment i honestly don’t know if we are able to i have had numerous conversations with our staff as well i’m not sure if we can come up with anything specific tonight but again as we are trying to do the by-law by the end of this year i think there is an opportunity for the staff to come back to us with certain uh suggestions recommendation how uh how to create more controlled environment and there would be also of course enforceable because it doesn’t make sense to come up with certain suggestions that we would we would not be able to enforce so uh i’m the question to the staff is um if you can give me some feedback if you think what i said it’s kind of feasible to look at it and to come back to us with certain recommendations how to create more controlled environment thank you to staff yes through the chair we do have several examples within our business licensing by-law where it goes beyond voluntary education it’s a prescriptive education and i refer to the regulations within our fast cash banks category where it’s prescriptive on giving out a pamphlet putting up a poster on interest rates and we do i actually go and inspect those to ensure that that’s being done and if it’s not being done there are administrative monetary penalties so there are there are some best practices within our other categories that we could apply to the distribution of this category one difficult area that we will have is the online sales you can go online and order fireworks and they’ll be on your porch in two to five days so that that is going to be a challenge that is a challenge currently in brampton and the other challenge is the black market illegal sales so you know going out to a side door of a garage in the residential area somebody that’s stocked up their garage to make some extra profits that likely would be an issue as well but once again because it’s a location it’s not as difficult to enforce as what we call like moving violation where we don’t know where the violations coming from in terms of setting off fireworks so people are you satisfied the mom or jibba fault no i’m good for no thank you very much sorry i just have one procedural question here before i get to other friends visiting um just having heard i would like to relinquish the chair to my vice chair um for i can make comments freely respecting that i try to stay neutral while chairing and i hope that people have seen that tonight and i do expect fully to be time to my five minutes thank you to the chair i have the chair recognizing council proposal you have five minutes okay thank you um looking to colleagues um i do not have a seconder that’s on the committee at the time my committee um though i have discussed it with somebody else and i have discussed this um with mr katolic in advance realizing i had some concerns i was already receiving from residents and then definitely what i’ve heard for tonight there seems to be a divide in our community that we still want one find a way to come together also i’ve children who hate when the fireworks go off when it’s not expected and i have a rescue dog who has ran away during fireworks so i do have that aspect as we come to this um but also having heard very clearly that we need better public education we need better enforcement um we’ve heard that some people are already exempt from it um so what i’m looking at adding as an amendment to part a that staff that civic administration be directed to review the business licensing by-law with respect to the sale of fireworks and report back on the following licensing all retailers of fireworks that’s going to include the not-for-profits who are currently need to do paperwork but are exempt from the fee and the bricks and mortar retailers who are exempt um realizing that we have independent distributors who have to go by a different set of rules require communications to retailers and clients circulated prior to committee in my discussions with mr katolic the city does have victoria day and fire um victoria day candidate information that clearly outlines what you’re supposed to do um only it’s not mandated that people selling fireworks hand this out to consumers which we’ve done the effort we just have not done the education piece but staff have already put in the effort um and that would also be something easy for staff when they do their spots checks tuesday whereas the information some retailers i will say do this already of their own accord um as i’ve spoken with them so thank you for those who are proactive in that and the last piece is reviewing the fees and the administrative monitor tell you penalties and compliance measures um so looking to see if there would be a seconder for that uh there’s a a seconder in council sorry david that’s sorry counselor for that’s your thank you counselor plows i’m looking for a seconder i have a seconder and counselor ramen thank you um so that wording the clerk has it in advance and i will leave it um i can’t take the chair back till it’s accepted as amendment um but you can’t ask the clerk if it’s loaded and then filter questions on the amendment that’s on the floor i thank you counselor plows i do see that it’s uh uh it’s loaded here in t scribes so i can start a speaker’s list going for any speakers last call for speakers okay let’s call the question mr acting chair i the motion i see on um online incorporates it’s been fixed the court system okay i’ll refresh all right thanks let me just give me a sec so i can read it refreshed okay i’ve read it now thank you uh the clerk’s advice that they are just doing one slight wording thing yeah i didn’t want to use the word amendments to counselor fair realizing you can’t always see all screens at once uh the miss wesic powers has our hands raised thank you counselor plowsa uh call are looking to the clerk miss wesic power thank you through the chair and um i i would like to acknowledge that i cannot see um what miss bunn is working on live in the meeting but just for clarification as i understand and what i was listening to there was a motion that was duly moved and seconded on the floor which uh involved the approval of option a as outlined in the staff report and then uh an amendment was introduced by counselor plowsa and duly seconded so what the committee will need to deal with first is the amendment and then you will go back to the main motion as amended thank you miss wesic i hope that’s helpful and if i have complicated things further because i can’t see the moving pieces uh that the clerk in the room is working on i do apologize for that but i hope that’s helpful and thank you miss wesic power um so we’ll call the question uh for the first um for the first motion closing the vote the motion carries four to one and thank you and now calling the question for i’ll hand the chair i’ll hand the chair back to counselor plowsa thank you um so that moves us back to the main motion as amended which is part a and then the monetary policy uh stuff i’m not sure if we put on the screen for those in the gallery could okay she’s just fixing a couple of things behind the scenes and then the wording will go up for all you can see so that puts us on to the main motion and amended in my speakers list once again since it’s been amended looking to committee to see if anyone um or the mayor online as he’s also gets to be a member of every committee saying none um looking to visiting counselors i believe counselor mccallister had his hand up and then and then counselor trev so so i’ll start there and it’s the motion as amended and i’m in time all people for five minutes thank you and through the chair i’m going to take this opportunity to ask the department a few questions um just recognizing that we’ve had one of the worst wildfire seasons on record um would it be recommended say we had a particularly dry season and we were coming up to a long weekend a holiday with the fire department put it forward recommendations for apps uh suspend fireworks or is that something that would be outside of your review thank you to staff yeah thank you uh through your manager thank you for the question um when we look at the dryness we take into consideration and consultation with other fire departments in the district in the whole in the whole county so we do look at that uh to start with um the conditions would have to get quite significantly bad before we would issue a ban and then that ban would include fireworks at that at that point in time we would certainly take that action as well to counselor mccallister and i’ll just for a follow-up but i’ll also note that you were a little bit quiet um just be louder i just want to make sure that it picks up for everyone who’s joined us online jeez since the hour grows late i also start to fade um and i was just wondering if the fire department also had um sorry through you uh the chair uh any statistics in terms of fire errors that have been caused from fireworks sorry just for clarification specifically in london yes specifically in london yes okay to staff through you madam chair thank you for that question as well i don’t we don’t have any set statistics i could tell you anecdotally that there’s um me personally i’ve been to numerous fires caused by fireworks and in my career um some worse than others and some creating structure fires some creating grass fires and bush fires and such but uh specifically here in london we don’t have a set number we’d have to look at our data to pull that forward we don’t have it at hand uh counselor i’ll ask also ask that just one second the 29th is our council meeting where we will vote on all this if you would like that information to be provided before then be sure to state it now yes and thank you through you that would be very helpful information if the fire department could include that those statistics um and i don’t know if the stats would be broken this way but i think it would be helpful if you do have um fires by um permitted uh or you know the the fire was caused by someone with a permit versus um individuals who did it legally um just say i don’t know if we have a stats that way but um i think that would be a helpful distinction to make in in this statistics of that nature thank you just looking to staff to make sure that you have no issue providing that data like i know you’ll need to look for it but that you don’t need direction from committee that okay i see no a head shake that it could be provided and two thumbs up even better um so we’re on the same page counselor mccallister is good at the moment and it’ll only use up 51 seconds um i had counselor troso next and then counselor for thank you very much just into the mic i just want to let the people online can hear us it’s going to come as no surprise that i’m speaking in favor of option b um i’ve been staking for several years now that i am in favor of banning all fireworks in london and during my campaign i stated this i was very explicit that i wanted wanted a fireworks band um however i thought that option b was very reasonable compromise because it would still allow fireworks it would allow the permanent displays um in a better world i’d rather see drone shows or other types of things but i can live with the permanent displays because at least at least somebody is looking at at the qualified person doing it at least we know when it’s going to be uh wildlife doesn’t read the signs that are posted um yes we still have the damage to the environment people like the colors where do you think the colors go what do you think makes those colors up chemicals toxic chemicals and they fall on the ground they go into the land they go into the water and they go downstream and i think for a city that is priding itself as being environmentally sensitive this is not a good direction for us to be taking and as a matter of fact uh and i’ll raise this again at council although looking around at the votes um i think i might be on the short side of this one but i am not i’m not going to relent because i think fireworks are creating a lot of damage to the environment and no they don’t bring us together people can be brought together in a lot of different social settings without having to use dangerous explosives dangerous chemicals um a few things i want to address so i’m not going to repeat everything in terms of all the science uh i think uh a number of the uh a number of the uh submissions did that the submissions were excellent on the animal question both pets and wildlife the submissions talked about the human cost the submissions cost about talked about the fire danger interesting just at four p.m.

tonight as we started this meeting uh the local media posted a new story about how there was a barn fire million dollar barn fire caused by firecrackers yeah that’s what happens with firecrackers and they are being increasingly weaponized now i want to address um what a lot of the proponents to option a came here tonight in good faith to um to address and i i really want to respect their heritage and their and their religion and i don’t want you to take this the wrong way but the problem with option a the problem with adding to walley to the list of acceptable celebrations is any other group that comes in now and and once and once and once their holiday chinese new year what have you added you’re gonna have to do that and every time you add another holiday where we can have private backyard fireworks you’re adding at least a few days to the uh i won’t name uh i won’t name the the name vendors you know who they are they’re very very prominent on the street they set they set up weeks ahead of time they say what day they’re going to open and these are impulse sales yes it’s true if we adopted option b people could go outside of the city to buy their uh to buy the fireworks just like people can find cigarettes they’re prohibited for your age group but it’s going to decrease demand and that would be very important now under the current law you cannot have backyard fireworks for dewali under the current law you can have the the pop-up sales backyard fireworks only for victoria day and canada day and what i heard from some people tonight was that by passing option b we would be taking something away that would have been status quo with with with respect to the dewali holiday now the other thing that i the other thing that i want to the other thing that i want to point out is a number of people mentioned sparklers and i wanted i wanted to try to see if i can get the bylaw lined up 45 seconds uh sparklers are already exempt it’s a non-issue sparklers are not sparklers under a certain detonation are not even under the bylaw so when you say you want children to be able to have sparklers it’s just it’s just not a relevant point here so i’m out of time i’m going to come back to this i’ll have a lot to say online and i’ll have a lot to say at the next council meeting just want to say i’m very disappointed with this council not the first time today and uh we’ll we’ll have further discussion about this um next at the end of the month when we revisit this and i hope that city council realizes that when we make and when we make a promise to to the public about being environmentally sensitive that might involve giving up some fun five minutes thank you very much once again uh no clapping or other things from this is the silent clapping but it helps you out but no uh nothing uh audio uh it does distract from committee and people who are speaking um looking to other speakers on the list for the main motion as amended hey um i do have councilor furrera and as this is the main motion as amended you have your full five minutes thank you through you i won’t take too much time because i said most of my piece already um but i will say it is about um it’s about the dangers uh for me and it’s about the public safety and the public good um these are essentially explosives um and they can be used uh inappropriately and we are um caught by our traditions you know our traditions do take a long time even if we know better um and regardless of the facts that come out it does take time to filter down you know we have many examples i would necessarily say for traditions but just from us knowing better you know there was a time when sea belts weren’t in cars and people didn’t want to have their sea belts in the cars and there was a time that smoking didn’t kill uh were even though we knew better and the time it took to finally get um society on board to realize that the truth of these matters you know a lot of people get injured or a lot of people get hurt or even killed and that’s the main thing that’s that i’m looking at so that is why i’m i don’t feel like the consumer portion of the fireworks should be allowed in london and anything that’s permitted is more controlled more regulated and more enforceable so that’s why i’m still pointing at option b but um with that i did actually have uh another question maybe i’d like to throw out to the fire chiefs here that council mccallister just tell just off of counselor mccallister’s comments and if you are able to if you’re able with the numbers of how many fires or how much how many instances of damage from fireworks could you also provide any stats if you have it of injuries or anything along that sorts injuries or um anybody who might be physically harmed by that if you could throw that in there too i’d appreciate that thank you okay just looking for staff a thumbs up just for everyone that’s a thumbs up and we’ll have that information back to us for the council on the 29th looking to any other guest online or in person i do have a couple questions for staff if committee’s fine i’ll just ask them from here as i’m not looking to do any any moving and amending um just to staff as it was questioned from the gallery earlier and the report does say that fireworks half of the backyard fireworks um could be just charged on Diwali uh the community raised the point that Diwali is multiple days how would staff or like what day would be designated versus like the entire period so through the chair um when uh Diwali celebrates through the permit it is for one day so we would follow it similar to what we do for july 1st and victoria day that we would permit in option a consumer backyard fireworks for the day that the community celebrates it through the permitted display event okay thank you um and i’ll note when the city does their new year’s display we’re not looking at allowing backyard stuff for that it’s just the permitted things that is already done for those who join us for new years in the park which is also a great opportunity to gather as community so those are my my questions just realizing some people in the gallery had it i’ll also note that we heard from the gallery some questions and from committee and visiting counselors about the loudness um i know that fireworks is also sold in kits and that if they come as kits they could be harder to pull apart if people wanted to designate just certain items within that kit um but that is something for people to contemplate going into council as well council ramen you had a question or comment yeah thank you through just a follow-up comment um so the date for celebration for duality is determined by the lunar calendar and i do know that within the community they circulate a date that is the date that is uh the agreed upon auspicious date of which to celebrate but um it could fall on a wednesday and it could fall on a monday um so what we’re saying is that within the option a that would be if it fell on a wednesday that would be the day that that people could display to staff for clarification thank you and through the chair thank you that is correct the same with july first thank you for that point of clarification um looking for other questions or comments looking for questions for comments online as well as i have not in chambers hey um i’ll call the question posing the vote the motion carries four to one okay thank you so that is going to be committee’s recommendation that you see in tonight going to council i will note that youtube and all the proceedings tonight was recorded in all our speakers so the counselors who aren’t here tonight who may or may not have listened online can go back and watch the full ppm um your communications are part of the package which will also go to council and be seen any other submissions from people who aren’t able to participate tonight or who wants to put their submission in who haven’t already put their submission in can forward that to that sp where my uh cpsc at london.ca and those communications will also be included for council and at council the decision can be amended changed completely or stay the same so just letting everyone know that that was just the decision that this committee thought was best but it’s up to full council’s purview on the 29th and that’s what you’ll have your final decision um that concludes that concludes everything tonight we have nothing to be considered in confidential session um thank you to all those who stayed with us for the duration of this um but i will need a motion to adjourn from a committee member moved by councilor ferrer seconded by councilor ramen a hand vote of all in favor that’s carried uh thank you to everyone and do continue to reach out if you had points that weren’t considered