Back in 2019 City Councillors Fry, Carr, Swanson, Boyle, Dominato, Bligh and Kirby-Yung voted in favour of banning the sale and ignition of fireworks in Vancouver, a decision that took effect the day after last Halloween. Mayor Stewart and Councillors Wiebe and De Genova voted against this heavy-handed motion which has made criminals out of everyday people participating in a long-running Vancouver tradition.
The motion was short-sighted and failed the residents of this city, as we witnessed last night with fireworks going off in every neighbourhood from Point Grey to Hastings-Sunrise. It was business as usual for festive explosives in the streets, front yards, and parks, and on social media where the tradition of complaining about fireworks was also shown to be alive and well.
Despite some cork-popping by concerned pet owners and others in opposition to fireworks leading up to the implementation of the ban (some of which we published on this very website), people still enjoyed the tradition this year. And still more folks seemed surprised and outraged that potential small fines did not prevent the biggest issue: yahoos blowing them off willy-nilly, scaring your dogs and accidentally setting your property ablaze.
In order to get our hands on explosive light displays this Halloween, people went to First Nations reservations, small towns (I found mine in Westwold B.C. last week), the internet, and some to their own homes where they had stockpiled them when they first learned of the ban.
Maybe the issue is access?
As someone who has always celebrated Halloween with fireworks, when they were legal to purchase within city limits it was far too easy for me to get a permit for them here. I once lived on the 30th floor of a highrise in Yaletown and even though there wasn't anywhere on the property for me to ignite them, I was still granted a permit by the City because my driver's license had a Vancouver address on it. Oh, and I filled out a multiple choice "test" that a grade two student couldn't fail.
The problem was indeed that they were too easy to get ahold of, and despite being banned on paper they remain a very real cultural experience that many refuse to let go of - there are many people in this city who organize displays for everyone in their neighbourhood to enjoy. You'll see flyers for them passed around among parents, with some collecting money in a hat, and having a set time that they meet up and enjoy the festivities with responsible adults safely lighting the fuses and managing the entire affair.
However, there are also a whole lot of fools running around with backpacks full of explosives, haphazardly shooting them off until all hours of the night.
Perhaps instead of banning them outright, a happy medium could be reached.
More work needed at City Hall
Were I proposing an amendment to an amendment to a motion presented at council (or, at this point, introducing an entirely new motion), I might put forward the idea of a trial whereby 50 permits would be issued by Vancouver Fire and Rescue, allowing vetted groups of amateur organizers to put on light displays for people in their yards, and in public parks, with strict guidelines.
The trial would keep it illegal to purchase fireworks in the city, but allow groups to light them off responsibly with a not-easy-to-obtain permit. This would effectively raise the barrier to entry, ensuring that fewer goons would be out in the streets freaking out Spot and lighting your laneway house on fire.
The permits would only allow for displays between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m., and anyone lighting off fireworks before or after would be dealt with by the VPD, who would be tasked with enforcing the semi-ban.
They'll never effectively get rid of fireworks altogether in this city, and the current bylaw criminalizes well-meaning folks who, like me, will continue to ignite them in celebration of Halloween long after this council's tenure is up.
I only lit one this year, as a form of protest, and will continue to advocate for the right for citizens to put on displays that bring joy to the good people of Vancouver.
