Honda Celebration of Light returns, locals voice their concerns

It’s an event that’s been taking place in Vancouver since 1990, and hundreds of thousands of people are expected to watch the Honda Celebration of Light fill the sky in Vancouver. However, some Vancouverites aren’t too excited about the impacts associated with this kind of summer event.

Animal activist Paul Fader says fireworks can stress out and even harm domestic pets and wildlife.

“We support the complete ban of fireworks in B.C. and in Canada,” he said.

“The debris left by fireworks is often never picked up and collected, and then it can be ingested by animals or marine life. The shock endured by the explosion can kill birds, animals like raccoons — it can force them to abandon their homes because of the explosion.”

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The BC SPCA’s Eileen Drever also supports banning fireworks, which she says are traumatic for pets like horses, gerbils, and cats.

“These loud sounds trigger our pets’ nervous systems, make them anxious and afraid … I can’t stress enough — this is so traumatic for pets,” she said.

FILE — Fireworks seen from Vancouver’s Coal Harbour. (CityNews Image)

There are also environmental concerns with fireworks according to University of British Columbia (UBC) professor Michael Brauer, he says they can degrade air quality because of the pollution they leave behind.

“When we see those colours, those colours are because of metals that are in the fireworks — and that’s the concern, we know that those metals are toxic when you breathe it in,” he said.

“Levels or particles increase when we have firework displays and are associated with increases in health impacts like cardiovascular diseases — some studies show increases in cardiovascular deaths on firework days compared to non-firework days.”

“For my personal opinions and for the sake of animals I would like to see them banned, I have seen amazing displays of drones,” Drever added. “It is amazing what we can do with drones and maybe that is where we are going eventually.”

CityNews has reached out to the Honda Celebration of Lights to ask if they would consider an alternative to fireworks.