Oshawa looking to crack down on illegal fireworks displays
Published January 17, 2023 at 1:11 pm
Oshawa may soon start cracking down on illegal fireworks after a public complaint prompted the City’s Safety and Facilities Services Committee to order a report on how widespread the problem is.
Under the current Fireworks By-law, residents can discharge fireworks on their private property without a permit, between dusk and 11 p.m. on just three days in the year: Victoria Day, Canada Day and Diwali Day.
Residents of Oshawa and other towns around Ontario are often subjected to fireworks at all hours and throughout the year, however, with several municipalities looking to toughen up their by-laws and/or increase enforcement.
Anthony Shanderuk, who lives in the Ritson and Conlin road neighbourhood in north Oshawa, sent a letter to the committee saying fireworks are heard “at all hours of the night” and public complaints to police, fire and by-law are passed off from one department to the other with no action taken.
“They start going off at the first long weekend until the end of summer,” Shanderuk wrote. “Some nights it sounds like we are being bombed.”
Shanderuk said the noise from the fireworks is especially hard on pets, adding his dog is “terrified” to go upstairs on many nights. “My dog won’t even go outside during the summer nights because she is shaking in fear of these loud bangs.”
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Committee referred the issue to staff, who have promised to return with a report, complete with a list of infractions and what action (if any) was taken, by April.
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