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| Ken Seiling |
Chairman Ken Seiling of Waterloo Region Council blocked a
move to support a resolution from Huron Central favouring barn owners who want to
host parties.
Seiling would not allow a motion of support for the
resolution during a recent council meeting, but did allow council to vote to
“not to vote” on the resolution.
Two barn owners are scheduled to appear at a hearing of the
Ontario Fire Safety Commission April 26 in Markham. They object to a Fire
Marshall’s Office order to have their barns sprayed with a fire retardant
chemical they don’t want to use because it is deemed carcinogenic.
Kathie Jordan of Wilmot Township spoke to Waterloo Region
Council, explaining that the Ontario Fire Marshall’s Office “drafted a proposed directive
that would prevent farm owners from having private/personal events in their
farm buildings such as weddings, barn dances, birthday parties, auctions,
family reunions, 4-H meetings, and church services.”
Jordan
asked Waterloo Region Council and the seven municipalities in the region to
endorse a resolution from Huron County Council which says:
•
Whereas shed parties, barn parties and family functions held in farm buildings
are an
important
part of rural culture;
• And
whereas private buildings or private property should be the responsibility of
the
owners
and as such the owners are responsible for their actions and properties;
• And
whereas the province is infringing on property rights;
• Therefore
be it resolved that the council of the municipality of Central Huron strongly
objects
to the direction from the Fire Marshal's Office restricting said use.
• And
further that this resolution be circulated to the Ontario Fire Marshal's Office
all
MPPs
and all municipalities in Ontario.
Jordan
said the resolution has support from 54 municipalities and MPPs, including
Michael Harris, whose riding includes much of the Waterloo Region.
Jordan
noted that open houses are held when new barns are built,, that Old Order and
Amish Mennonites sometimes hold services in their barns and that there have
been political addresses in driving sheds. Fred Wagner of Breslau hosted a
rally for John Tory, then the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party.
Jordan
said barn parties have been held for more than 200 years and “to date, there
has not been a case documenting a fatality in Ontario as a result of a fire due
to a gathering in a farm building.”
Jordan
said “fire chiefs will be placed in the awkward position of stopping a family
from hosting a family wedding in their own barn. The responsibility will fall
on the fire chief when made aware of
any
assemblies of people in farm buildings, private or otherwise, to place an
inspection order
on
the building.”
She
said the order states that barn owners cannot hold private events unless they
first apply for a “change of use” from a farm building to an Assembly Occupancy
Building and bring the barn up to the standards of a community center.
“We
learned from an MPAC (property tax assessor) professional that this
would
raise the taxes $6,000 to $7,000 per year. All this so you can host a private
party
for friends and family such as a daughter’s wedding, a night of music, a son’s
band
practice,
or your father’s 85th birthday
party.”
