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Ottawa’s general manager of emergency and protective services says he’s “extremely sorry” about a decision to set off unused Canada Day fireworks eight days later and with no public notice.
The surprise fireworks show over LeBreton Flats lasted from about 10:55 p.m. until 11:05 p.m. Thursday, as the first night of Bluesfest was wrapping up. The spectacle continued past the city’s 11 p.m. noise curfew.
It drew a range of complaints, from people annoyed by the unexpected noise to those upset that they hadn’t been given a chance to come downtown and see the display.
City and federal government officials said they were trying to avoid crowds gathering for the show, especially as the Bluesfest audience was pouring out of the nearby venue.
Officials also said it was safer to light the fireworks than to move them after extreme thunderstorms on Canada Day forced the original show’s cancellation.
At a news conference Monday about the continuing fallout from the rain and flooding on July 1, emergency and protective services general manager Ryan Perrault reiterated that public safety was at the heart of the difficult decision, but added there are lessons to be learned from the experience.
“It’s very clear to me that it had impacts on the community, and for that I’m extremely sorry for that experience that those residents felt,” he said.
“That’s something we’ll have to take away and look at it as part of our processes.”
Video captured from a neighbourhood west of downtown Ottawa shows the fireworks launched at Bluesfest at LeBreton Flats on Thursday minutes before 11 p.m.
Mayor Mark Sutcliffe said he’s been focused on the storm cleanup and didn’t know about the fireworks plan ahead of time.
He said he understands that officials were trying to make the best of a bad situation, but also why some residents were surprised and upset.
“Perhaps it was too late in the day,” he said.
