They haven’t even voted on the bylaw, but the City of Beaconsfield has already sent out a notice to residents saying it is going ahead with its controversial proposed leaf blower ban, something some find more upsetting than the ban itself.
Beaconsfield resident Toni Lemieux says she’s disturbed the city is going ahead with the ban despite citizens’ concerns. She believes the city is keeping information from residents.
“This situation has morphed from leaf blowers to just a transparency and an honesty issue,” Lemieux said.
The city commissioned a Leger Marketing survey to gauge people’s approval of the ban.
But Lemieux says when she asked about it, she was shut down by the mayor.
“This lack of transparency is unacceptable. We pay for this survey with our own tax dollars and we should be entitled to have access to the results,” Lemieux said.
Global News filed an access to information request to obtain the results of the survey but were told the results would be released after the July 9 council meeting.
In Beaurepaire Village, several posts have signs encouraging people to attend the upcoming council meeting. An online petition against the ban is circulating with more than 500 signatures.
“We’re still getting emails from people who are supporting and yes, we also get emails from people who don’t support it,” said Beaconsfield Mayor Georges Bourelle, adding leaf blowers were an issue residents brought up during last fall’s municipal campaign.
Bourelle defended his council and himself saying they’ve acted in a transparent way.
READ MORE: Beaconsfield moves to partially ban leaf blowers during the summer
“There is no issue with transparency and the proof is that we’ve already said in our press release and our letter that it will be adopted,” Bourelle said.
Sending a notice ahead of a vote he added is common practice.
Bourelle assures residents the city is acting in their best interest.
“The health issues are extremely important, they’re extremely serious,” Bourelle said.
“Some people don’t even want to believe that there are serious health issues. There’s a whole lot of literature and documentation.”
City council is set to vote on the proposed ban Monday July 9. A protest is planned outside of council ahead of the vote.
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