Illegal late-night fireworks unexpected result of pandemic, borough councillors say

Several Montreal boroughs are dealing with a sudden increase in illegal fireworks this year, and it's prompted one borough to drastically increase fines for the activity. 

In a special council meeting last week, the borough council of Montréal-Nord adopted a bylaw that increases the fines for setting off illegal fireworks from $50 to $500. Those fines can go all the way up to $1,000 for repeat offenders. 

While illegal fireworks are usually a small nuisance for the borough every summer, Montréal-Nord borough councillor Abdelhaq Sari said things have gotten especially out-of-hand this year.

"We have noticed an increase in fireworks and other pyrotechnics in recent weeks. The phenomenon is widespread throughout Montreal," he said. 

Sari said he first became aware of the situation when a resident sent him a video of fire crackers and fireworks being set off near parked cars.

As the weeks went by, more and more people continued to message Sari and his colleagues, and they decided they needed to take action. 

Sari said that, aside from being a disturbance for people in the neighborhood, the fireworks were causing unnecessary panic in the neighborhood. 

"If you hear a firecracker, it's the same sound as a gun. You can't hear the difference between a gun and a firecracker so you don't know if a person has shot someone or if there is just simply a firecracker," Sari said. 

Sari said that, in the nights since the bylaw was adopted, he's noticed less firework activity in the streets. 

No permit, no fireworks

In Montreal, it is illegal to set off fireworks without a permit from the fire department. 

In a statement to CBC News, Montreal police said they do not keep statistics on firework complaints so they cannot say if they've seen an increase, but they said, "There have been complaints about fireworks being used at night and police officers stay vigilant during their patrols." 

In nearby Rivière-des-Prairies–Pointe-aux-Trembles, Deputy Borough Mayor Lisa Christensen said they are looking into  limiting the sales of pyrotechnics in order to curb the increase they've been dealing with this summer. 

"I've been here 17 years. It used to be, it was on the occasional Saturday night, especially around certain holidays, we would see fireworks further off into the east, closer to the water area. But this summer, it's almost every night," she said. 

Christensen said many people ignite the fireworks from underneath cars or in front of other peoples' homes, not taking into account that the fire could wind up igniting those cars or homes. 

"It could be very dangerous," she said. "It's just not something you want to deal with inside the city population, it's too iffy. What happens if you misfire?" 

Christensen and Sari both believe the city is seeing this increase because more people are staying at home due to COVID-19 and have less to do. 

"I think they're looking for creative ways to keep themselves busy," Christensen said. 

At the other end of the city, Sud-Ouest councillor Craig Sauvé's social media accounts have been flooded with complaints from Saint-Henri residents these past few months.

"I'm not seeing a lot of people enamoured with the fireworks," said Sauvé. "I'm seeing a lot more people frustrated by them." 

"I really feel that perhaps right after we started deconfining a little bit more and the world started relaxing, people were sort of letting loose and wanted to make some noise." 

Sauvé said the Sud-Ouest borough is in talks with other boroughs to see what measures can be taken to reduce the problem. 

"There are a couple of avenues we are looking at, at the moment, but we do want to deal with it," he said.