Proposed burning bylaw has some locals fuming

A group of local residents, led by Anne Moffat, are urging City Council to retain the current open-air burning bylaw instead of approving the new one proposed by Fire Chief Grant Love on the grounds of it being too great a health risk. PHOTO BY LIAM BERTI 

While many North Bay residents await Fire Chief Grant Love’s drafting of a new open-air burning bylaw, another group of locals has tried to clear the smoke by bringing some sobering insights to City Council.

Anne Moffat prepared a presentation for city councillors during last Monday’s meeting, where she urged the politicians to retain the standing bylaw, which prohibits open-air fires in urban zones.

Moffat acknowledged a number of reasons to ban outdoor burning, including the risk and safety involved, the proper enforcement and execution of rules, and the potential for neighbourly disputes, among others.

But the chief reason on her list was the threat to public health.

The threats that particulate matter, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds, formaldehyde and acrolein pose are just too dangerous, she said.

“The ban that they instituted four years ago was a very good start to cleaning up the air in North Bay, but changing that to allow burning in North Bay would be a great step backwards,” Moffat said after her presentation.

“The trouble is that no amount of wood smoke is good to breathe, wherever it comes from: dry, seasoned wood or damp, smouldering logs,” she said.

She pointed to certain studies that have found wood smoke to be 30 times more carcinogenic than tobacco smoke, the particles from the smoke stay chemically staying active in your lungs 40 times longer than cigarette smoke, and that the particles posing a risk for heart attack, to name just a few.

She also accused councillors of not having done their research and failing to consult any community members besides the Fire Chief.

“We thought scientists worldwide, in studies over the last thirty of forty years, had proven how badly wood smoke pollution affects human health,” she said.

“Apparently, we were mistaken,” she added. “Clearly, council didn’t realize that the inhalation of wood smoke by 54,000 inhabitants is a public health issue.”

On the most basic level, the new bylaw would lift the strict fire restrictions in the city, allowing property owners to enjoy a recreational fire under certain limited guidelines.

Council voted in favour of the proposed changes that the Fire Chief brought before them, but the new bylaw that Love and his team create will still have to go before the city politicians for a final vote.

“If they do pass the bylaw that they are proposing, there’s no reason that one of the councillors can’t call for a notice of reconsideration at any time,” Moffat explained. “Once everybody knows all the facts, there isn’t anybody that could be in favour of burning more wood.”

Moffat, who was accompanied by an entourage of supporters, also used other areas in North America for anecdotal support. Montreal, for example, has committed to eliminating all wood burning within the city by 2020. 

In response to her presentation, Coun. Mike Anthony touched on his conversation with the Fire Chief, during which Love said as a firefighter, his instincts tell him to not support lifting the restrictions.

However, Chief Love was tasked with finding a compromise between what many residents identified they wanted and what the city could reasonably allow. 

“As the Fire Chief, no I would not [support the recommendations],” Love said at the time of his presentation last December. “To me, the fair thing to say is no, I don’t support it. But I think what we have to do is take what the community and the City of North Bay would like to have into consideration."

If the forthcoming bylaw is passed and instated, Moffat said she would be willing to undergo her own public education campaign to inform everyone of the perceived risks.