Mom who sparked fire pit debate calls 6-hour burning window 'a very generous compromise'

Kaela Tennent says it takes 15 minutes for her asthmatic 10-year-old son to start clearing his throat and coughing after being exposed to smoke from a neighbour's wood-burning fire.

"Every single time, I have opened the door and sure enough, smoke," said Tennent from her living room on Sunday.

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Tennent's frustration with her son's not being able to breathe clean air and his having to "retreat inside" is what drove her in early 2016 to ask Saskatoon city councillors to consider a ban on fire pits.

Things haven't gone that far, but a six-hour burning window is currently on the table. 

"No matter what the issue, because we live in close social confines, we have to have social contracts for behaviour," said Tennent.

Vote on burning window looming

On Monday, Saskatoon city council voted to defer the decision on whether or not to enact a bylaw to limit people's use of fire pits from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. CST. 

The concept was approved by only a slim majority of councillors, including Mayor Charlie Clark, last December.

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"I think it is a very generous compromise," said Tennent, adding that her boy is "absolutely thrilled" at the prospect.

"Those people can still have that six-hour window every day in order to have a wood fire, [and] it provides a reprieve for people who are affected by wood smoke."

Thousands sign anti-curfew petitions

But the conversation about fire pits has taken on new political dimensions since Tennent reignited it almost two years ago.

Thousands of people, some accusing city hall of meddling in people's backyard lifestyles, have signed two online petitions seeking to torpedo the burning window and preserve the restriction-free status quo.

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A union representing hundreds of City of Saskatoon workers chimed in on social media, defending fire pits as "one of the few things people enjoy in a short summer."

Darren Hill, the city councillor for Tennent's ward, voted against the idea of the burning window last December and has since publicly lobbied against it.

After Hill and fellow councillors Zach Jeffries, Randy Donauer, Troy Davies and Cynthia Block lost the December vote, Jeffries started a third petition, which has since been taken down. 

Instead of the burning window, Jeffries called for tougher enforcement of existing fire pit rules, something the fire department has admitted has been a challenge. 

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"I think certain councillors, specifically Jeffries and Hill, have tried to minimize if not completely deny that those health impacts exist," said Tennent.

Among the presenters to city council has been Jennifer May, the vice-president of health promotion for the Lung Association of Saskatchewan.

May shared information about cleaner burning options like natural gas fire pits.

"We ask the councillors to refresh the current bylaw to recognize the healthier, alternative options available today so that future generations can still enjoy this activity without affecting their own health and their neighbours' quality of life," said May in a recently emailed statement to CBC News.

'Chaos and a nightmare' come 11 p.m.

For the new burning window to become law, it needs to be voted through three times by city councillors.

Monday was slated for one of those votes, but it was deferred until March 26 after council approved a motion made by Coun. Ann Iwanchuk. This came after learning that two reports related to fire pits are due next month.

Hill wanted to push things a step further, asking council to wait until May 26 in order to get community feedback on the fire pit proposal and to discuss having the bylaw division rather than the fire department respond to fire pit complaints. That request was denied, but Hill has made a motion to discuss his proposal in March. He said it will be up to the public to put pressure on their local councillor if they want that motion to move ahead.

"I feel like some of colleagues are trying to rush this and I don't know what the reason is. I asked for sound reports, for detail, so that we can make a fully informed decision," he said Monday.

Hill says the majority of the residents he's heard from don't support the burning window, and that the December vote — coming as it did a week before Christmas — got lost in the holiday shuffle.

"I think the citizens want more opportunity to speak directly to their elected officials," he said.

Hill says pro-window councillors had "good intentions" when thinking of people with breathing problems. He was also among the majority of councillors who in December asked the city to explore the idea of restricting the type of fire of pits in new developments to gas-burning ones.

But he says a burning window will create "additional stresses" for the fire department.

"This will be chaos and a nightmare as soon as that clock hits one minute after 11 p.m.," said Hill, who, like Jeffries, prefers to see tougher enforcement of Saskatoon's existing Fire and Protective Services bylaw. 

Though they can't currently issue fines, firefighters can and do hand out warnings. According to the fire department's latest update, last year 56 tickets were issued, compared to 10 in 2016.

Where councillors stand

CBC News reached out to all 10 city councillors, plus Clark, before Monday's meeting to see how they intend to vote on the bylaw to enact the 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. burning window. All but Hilary Gough and Troy Davies responded.

Hill, Jeffries, Donauer and Block said they will continue to oppose it.

"I've received many calls and emails, and the vast majority state they don't want any changes," said Block. "It's important to me that we also accommodate people with health concerns, which the current bylaw addresses. We just need to enforce it."

Mairin Loewen said she'll vote in favour of it, like she did last December.

"I know this issue has created a lot of discussion and controversy in the community, but I believe that this approach is a reasonable compromise," she said.

Clark and Sarina Gersher declined to comment before Monday.

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Two councillors who supported the window last December, Iwanchuk and Bev Dubois, said they were unsure how they'll vote on the bylaw.

As Donauer pointed out Sunday, only one pro-window councillor needs to change their vote for the bylaw to be defeated.

Iwanchuck said she's not considering the status-quo and has been mulling other options, including different hours for the burning window.

Dubois was also noncommittal, saying, "I have been working on this a lot of the weekend and still am."