Meeting set to hear from public about gun bylaw
Trent Hills plans to pass a bylaw restricting where firearms can be used

If you have an opinion, or you want to hear what your neighbours think, about the Municipality of Trent Hills’ plan to restrict where firearms can be used, put Tuesday, May 7 at 6 p.m. on your calendar.
The municipality announced last week that it plans a public meeting then to hear what people think about its plans to consider “the creation of a bylaw to regulate the discharge of firearms.”
The issue came to the fore in late February after some residents complained about hunters shooting geese last fall on Canal Rd., south of Healey Falls. They complained that the properties are close together and asked for the municipality to restrict where guns can be used.
At the moment, there is no overall municipal by-law on the issue.
The notice of the meeting says council is considering a bylaw that would prohibit the discharge of firearms within urban or rural settlement areas, as defined in the official plan.
It would also ban shooting:
On any municipal property.
Within 300 metres of conservation authority lands, educational property, parks, campgrounds, places of worship.
On any parcel less than 1.0 hectares (2.47 acres) in size.
On, across or within 8 metres of any highway, right-of-way, private road, or recreational trail.
Within 150 metres of a dwelling on any residential properties.
There would be exemptions allowing the use of guns by police officers, and conservation officers acting in the course of duty or training; or for use of blank ammunition as part of an event, historical display, or education program.
The bylaw would also permit shooting as part of the normal farm practice or protection of property from nuisance wildlife, or under threat of imminent danger from dangerous animals to people, crops, livestock, poultry or pets.
“At present there is only one bylaw that regulates the discharge of firearms within the Municipality of Trent Hills,” Planning and Development Director Jim Peters told council during its Feb. 27 meeting. “This is an old bylaw for the Town of Campbellford that prohibits the discharge of firearms within the town boundary.”
Peters noted that other nearby municipalities such as Brighton have enacted new firearms bylaws. He predicted there would be public interest in a bylaw here.
The municipal notice explains that no decision will be made on May 7. The intent is to receive public feedback and incorporate it into a recommendation from staff. Written comments can be sent in via email or in writing. Comments can be emailed to planning@trenthills.ca.