Dear Municipal Leaders:
It is time to implement a full review of “By-Law No. 2022-21 a By-Law to Regulate the Sale, Possession, Use, Setting Off, Ignition, and/or Discharge of Fireworks Within the Municipality of Northern Bruce Peninsula” and voters on Eagle Road may well hinge their votes at voting time on where our municipal leaders stand on this issue.
Fireworks on Eagle Road have become ubiquitous on every long weekend during the summer. While residents are awarded permits and are perfectly within their right to launch fireworks, we all have a moral obligation to protect our community. Permit holders appear to care very little about the impact of fireworks on their neighbours, the local wild animal population, our pets, persons with PTSD and high anxiety and the environment. Thus, by extension, the municipality also appears to be washing its collective hands of its larger constituency and the wildlife that make the North Bruce a UNESCO site and a designated Dark Sky area. At least once a month residents are subjected to incredibly loud noise and the residual stink of fireworks. The Peninsula is home to some of Ontario’s rarest birds who flee in fear at the sound of fireworks. I shudder to think of the impact on our local eagle population who still have fledglings in the nest. One would think that these issues would be of importance not just to residents by to the municipality as well.
A previous letter to the Municipality from Eagle Road residents who live alongside national park property was met with a curt e-mail response that a review of the fireworks by-law would not be forthcoming.
Dyers Bay Residents Association had the foresight to move with the times and ban fireworks as have many other municipalities. Approaching our neighbouring permit holders has been frustrating and fruitless and it’s about time the municipality led by example and did something to protect our environment by amending the By-law to ban fireworks in our municipality.
Lin Gitterman
Editor’s Note: A petition for Northern Bruce Peninsula Council to Ban Fireworks in Eagle Harbour can be found at https://www.change.org/p/petition-for-northern-bruce-peninsula-council-to-ban-fireworks-in-eagle-harbour
