Mississauga residents can indugle in Diwali fireworks on their private properties only this Sunday, November 12 until midnight.
Festival fireworks cannot be used on a public street, park or road, the City warned. These require a fireworks display permit, applications for which must be sent 14 days in advance of the event, according to the City’s website.
In the past couple of years, there have be numerous complaints of Diwali fireworks being set off outside of the permitted hours and for days. The noise nuisance led to a fireworks ban in Brampton, with many hoping the Mississauga will follow suit.
While the current fine for setting of fireworks illegally in Mississauga is $5,000, the financial penalty will rise significantly this December.
Last week Mississauga officials voted to support a motion at city council that would impose a maximum fine of $100,000 for improperly setting off fireworks on public property or property that does not belong to the individual convicted.
“I think the $100,000 fine is really something that that just shows people who are breaking the rules, that we’re not going to stand for it any longer,” Councillor Matt Mahoney told his colleagues at a city council meeting on October 25.
Councillor Dipika Damerla was the only one to abstain from the vote out of concern that the timing was too close to Diwali.
Fireworks are allowed in Mississauga only on Canada Day, Victoria Day, Lunar New Year, and Diwali
