Public Consultation - Draft Firearms Discharge By-law

On Monday February 23, 2026, Township Council authorized staff to initiate a Public Consultation process regarding a proposed new Firearms Discharge By-law.  The current By-law has been in place since 1983 and the Legislation that it refers to is outdated.  Staff have also clarified and updated the By-law to identify that the discharge of firearms (as defined in the draft Bylaw) is not permitted within rural settlement areas or urban Ayr.

Some of the key updates included in the proposed by-law include:

• Updating the definition of firearms within the By-law to include air guns, spring guns or any class
• Separate definition of bows within the By-law
• Removing the ambiguous “Schedule A” within the existing Bylaw that is written in metes and bounds and replacing it with mapping showing the rare Charitable Research Reserve land
• Prohibiting the discharge of bows and firearms within settlement areas of the Township
• Prohibiting the discharge of bows and firearms on or near churches, schools, places of worship, etc.
• Prohibiting the discharge of bows and firearms on, across or within 30 metres of a public highway

Provisions that the new by-law will permit: 

• Discharge of bows and firearms on rural properties outside of settlement areas by the owner/occupier or with written permission from the owner/occupier of the property
• Future permissions will be granted should there be development of a gun club, shooting range, paintball range or similar
• Permission for use of blanks in movies, theatre, historical re-enactments, honour guards or ceremonies
• The ability to eliminate dangerous wildlife on a property where the wildlife is threatening people, crops, livestock and pets

Staff are seeking public input on the draft By-law to assist in accurately responding to the community.  A report with any comments will be brought back to Council on April 27, 2026. Staff will be presenting a new Firearms Discharge By-law for Council’s review and consideration at that time.   Any comments on the draft Bylaw received prior to April 10^th will be included in the Staff Report to Council.

A copy of the February 23^rd Staff Report and the draft Firearms Discharge Bylaw can be viewed here.

Please submit any comments, or questions regarding the draft Firearms Discharge By-law review to the Township Clerk (clerk@northdumfries.ca) or call Jeremey Ludwig at 519-632-8800 ext. 121.  The deadline to submit comments is April 10, 2026.