Would Vancouver fireworks ban actually work?

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – You may have heard fireworks in your neighbourhood last night, or even early this morning.

Police and firefighters were busy responding to calls on Halloween night, but it’s still not clear whether Vancouver’s proposed ban on personal fireworks would have any impact if it comes into effect.

Delta already has a ban in place, which means you can’t buy or sell fireworks for personal use, but Police Chief Neil Dubord says that doesn’t stop people from setting them off.

“Certainly any time you put a rule or a law in place, there are people that will follow the law and there’s people that may not necessarily abide by the law,” he says.

Dubord believes if Vancouver does bring in a ban, people will still buy fireworks.

“I think that there’s a potential for the black market to increase.”

Dubord isn’t against Vancouver’s ban, however – he believes it could still lead to a drop in problems.

The motion was brought forward by Green City Councillor Pete Fry, who wants to ban the use of personal fireworks by 2021.

He pointed out that Vancouver is the only local city that allows the sale and use of consumer fireworks, while other municipalities like Coquitlam, Pitt Meadows, Richmond, Delta, and Surrey have banned the sale due to property damages and injuries.

To address these issues, city staff would work with Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services to come up with a detailed plan on how to ban consumer fireworks.

The proposal goes back before Vancouver’s city council on Tuesday.

With files from Taran Parmar and Jonathan Szekeres