Residents push back against firearms bylaw in Mapleton
MAPLETON – Firearms are not municipally regulated here, but township staff have been investigating what that could look like.
They recently prepared a report exploring the possibility of introducing a firearms bylaw in Mapleton Township.
It was prompted by a December delegation from Dr. Rocco Rondacaro, who expressed grave concerns about firearm usage on properties near his home northeast of Drayton.
Rondacaro said he’s concerned that bullets could easily stray onto neighbouring properties, putting people and animals at risk of serious injury.
Council received the staff report for information without discussion on Feb. 10.
The same day, council consulted with SV Law about a possible firearms bylaw in the township.
It wouldn’t be the first municipal bylaw to regulate firearms in the area. The first was passed in former Maryborough Township in 1970, followed by another in former Peel Township in 1990.
Those bylaws were later repealed by the Township of Mapleton in 2000.
The only municipality in Wellington County with a firearms bylaw is Guelph/Eramosa. It was adopted in 2010 and updated in 2017.
The city of Guelph has had a firearms bylaw since 1994.
Firearms are regulated through federal licensing and registration, and discharging a firearm unsafely is an offence under the Criminal Code. The province regulates hunting, transportation and storage of firearms, and shooting ranges.
Municipalities have the power to increase firearm regulations through local bylaws, which often:
– prohibit shooting on properties less than four hectares (10 acres) in size;
– permit shooting only for animal and pest control;
– prohibit shooting within certain distances of buildings and roads; and
– restrict shooting to certain times of day.
During the Feb. 10 meeting, clerk Larry Wheeler read two letters in opposition to a local firearms bylaw.
Benjamin Allen stated he can hear firearms being discharged from farms neighbouring his home in Alma and, “I have no concerns.”
He said the shots are for both target practice and livestock protection, and that federal regulations controlling where, when, and what calibre of firearms are permitted is sufficient.
“No further regulation is desired, required or necessary,” Allen stated.
Nick Grose has a farm near Alma and said the township “has a strong heritage of being a hunting community.
“And with all the farming taking place, firearms and their use are an integral part of our daily life.”
Grose said he often relies on firearms to protect his livestock.
“Last year alone I lost over 40 chickens to wildlife encounters,” he said.
If he hadn’t been allowed to shoot the predators, or allowed to practice and develop the required skills to do so, “It would be an even more devastating issue.”
Grose added, “Firearm use in rural areas is highly regulated on a federal level and trying to mix in around this ... would be a bad idea.”
