Concerns raised about firearm use

MAPLETON – Another resident has taken a shot at firearm regulations for small properties here.

Delegating at a Mapleton council meeting on June 9, local business owner Shelly Frank shared concerns about how the township regulates residents discharging firearms on smaller, private properties because she doesn’t believe a “safe backdrop” can be created.

Frank is the owner of the Heirloom Wellness Clinic, a 23-acre rural wellness retreat business with five tiny homes for overnight accommodation on Jones Baseline.

She told council she continues to have an issue with one of her neighbours shooting a firearm on his property, which she believes to be less than one acre. 

“I have guests roaming around doing outdoor activities ... my concern as a business owner is someone will be severely injured or killed,” Frank said.

Frank described an incident in May when she heard her neighbour fire at least 17 rounds. She called the police, convinced someone was trespassing because the gunfire sounded so close. 

“It invited a lot of danger. I have large animals, and I was very grateful that I wasn’t riding,” Frank said.

Frank went on to ask council to consider prohibiting the use of firearms on private properties less than 9.88 acres in size and to require setbacks from spaces like roads and property lines for safety reasons. 

“It does seem unfair that my neighbours directly across the street are protected and my farm is not,” she said. 

In the County of Wellington, six of the seven member municipalities, including Mapleton, don’t have bylaws regulating firearm use on private properties in rural residential areas.

The Township of Guelph/Eramosa prohibits residents from discharging firearms on private properties smaller than 9.88 acres in size. 

This is the second time the township’s firearm bylaw has come up in the last year.

A December delegation from a Moorefield resident asked council to consider and implement solutions to restrict or prohibit the recreational  discharging of firearms in rural areas where homes are in close quarters.

At the time, council considered implementing a bylaw prohibiting residents from discharging a firearm on land parcels in separate ownership of less than four hectares in size or on lands within the township’s municipal boundaries without the owner’s written authorization.

Instead, council decided to leave things in the hands of the federal government, which regulates firearm licensing, registration and classification through the Criminal Code of Canada, the Firearms Act, and the Ontario Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act.

Municipal governments can pass bylaws further restricting the use of firearms, which could include establishing specific zones.

The delegation was received for information. 

CAO Manny Baron said a report will return to council at a later date.