Earlier this month we got to try out our new and improved poll feature – an option that allows us to create polls on the local level that are more relevant and accurate in their scope.
Our new polls allow InnisfilToday (and other sites in the Village Media family) to better capture relevant data, detect and prevent fraudulent votes, detect and prevent robots and filter out non-local and duplicate votes.
It also gives us the option of not allowing our polls to be linked elsewhere – thus allowing special interest groups to share them with their like-minded allies, potentially skewing the results.
We posted a poll about the ongoing debate over whether fireworks should be banned outright in the Town of Innisfil.
According to the poll, 60 per cent of respondents are in favour of having fireworks totally banned.
The poll had 118 respondents, with 59 of them local.
The poll had a 12.75 per cent margin of error.
On the June 2 Meeting of Innisfil Council, Coun. Kevin Eisses put forward a Notice of Motion, asking for changes to the Fireworks By-law which would allow fireworks to be set off without a permit only on a designated holiday, with a ‘bad weather’ rain date one day before or one day after the actual holiday.
The existing bylaw permits the use of fireworks without a permit two days before and two days after significant recognized holidays – Victoria Day, Canada Day, and New Year’s Eve and Day.
Eisses proposed adding the Chinese New Year, Diwali, and Eid-al-Fitr (the end of Ramadan) to the list of recognized holidays for which fireworks are allowed, with residents still being able to apply for a permit to set off fireworks on special occasions, like weddings.
At the last meeting of Council on June 23, councillors deferred the proposed fireworks bylaw amendments to give staff more time to review the bylaws of neighbouring municipalities and come up with a proposal.
However, there has been mixed feelings about fireworks among community members. Some citing they are dangerous and pose as a threat to safety for pets, elderly, small children and those with mental illness.
On the Victorai Day long weekend, one family lost their 12-year-old dog to a stroke after being frightened by fireworks let off in a field near an Alcona subdivision.
Bylaw has received numerous complaints about fireworks, but as Chief Bylaw Officer Barrie Vickers noted at the June 23 Innisfil Council meeting, it can be hard to issue tickets because by the time they get the call, the fireworks have already finished and officers are only authorized to go on residents' front yards.
Staff will come back with a report to council on Aug. 11 with options on how to move forward with the by-law.
-with files from Tony Saxton and Miriam King
