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<\/p>\nSeveral months after strengthening its fireworks bylaw, Mississauga is now considering increasing fines \u2014 again \u2014 for those who break the rules.<\/p>\n
A report from senior City of Mississauga staff to be discussed next Wednesday at general committee also recommends empowering bylaw enforcement officers to dish out costlier fines of $500 to $1,000, depending on the infraction, to offenders on the spot. Currently, there are either no set fine amounts for many offences and for others a penalty of $125 is imposed.<\/p>\n
If approved by city council, the \u201cnew, increased and escalating\u201d fines would take effect May 1.<\/p>\n
In his report, Mississauga\u2019s community services commissioner Raj Sheth noted \u201ccurrent penalties and enforcement mechanisms for fireworks-related contraventions are not effective deterrents, limiting the city\u2019s ability to achieve sustained compliance.\u201d<\/p>\n
The city currently relies on the Provincial Offences Act to enforce fireworks rules, which \u201cinvolves higher evidentiary requirements and lengthy legal processes, limiting timely and effective enforcement,\u201d the report continues.<\/p>\n
The changes supported by senior city staff would allow for \u201cmore immediate, predictable and proportionate consequences, encouraging compliance, improving operational efficiency and reducing reliance on court-based processes,\u201d Sheth said in the report.<\/p>\n
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Mississauga\u2019s community services commissioner Raj Sheth says the current penalty system for breaking fireworks rules in Mississauga is ineffective.<\/p>\n
Staff\u2019s proposed penalty structure would see escalating fines issued \u2014 $500 for first offence, then $750 and $1,000 \u2014 for fireworks sales and fireworks-related contraventions in parks, \u201cwhere non-compliance is commercially motivated or more likely to persist.\u201d<\/p>\n
The breaking of rules related to the use of fireworks, meanwhile, would hit the offender with a single fine of $1,000, \u201creflecting the immediate public safety risks associated with misuse,\u201d the report stated.<\/p>\n
Sheth added in his report that current enforcement of fireworks regulations \u201cremains resource-intensive and largely reactive, with complaint volumes increasing during designated holidays. Current penalties are insufficient to deter non-compliance, including repeat contraventions, and enforcement officers continue to face evidentiary and procedural barriers to achieving consistent and sustained outcomes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Doling out fines under the city\u2019s Administrative Penalty System, as is the case with many other Mississauga bylaws, as opposed to the Provincial Offences Act will \u201cstrengthen enforcement outcomes,\u201d the report noted, adding it will also \u201cmodernize the city\u2019s approach to fireworks enforcement by introducing clearer, stronger and more effective penalty tools.\u201d<\/p>\n
Last fall, in an ongoing attempt to beef up rules related to use and sale of fireworks, Mississauga city council strengthened regulations and public education efforts related to the celebratory devices. The reworked bylaw<\/a> took effect in January.<\/p>\n After lengthy debate and public input, council last October opted\u00a0not to impose a full fireworks ban<\/a> in Canada\u2019s seventh-largest city, which was being considered, and chose instead to bolster the bylaw.<\/p>\n In late 2023, the city approved changes to its fireworks bylaw that took direct aim at those who most egregiously break the rules. Maximum fines for the worst offenders were increased from $5,000 to $100,000<\/a> \u2014 or more.<\/p>\n