Guns are a hot topic and with that comes heated passions and the potential for misinformation.
For that reason, Tiny council chose to cool a recent matter by requesting a thorough report in relation to firearm usage within the township for a future meeting.
The origin of the issue stemmed from a complaint and 30-person petition lodged by a Georgian Highlands residents at the start of November, regarding what they suspected was a possibly-illegal gun range being operated in their backyards at the end of Raven Hill Dr., off Tiny Beaches Rd. N. between the west 18th and 19th concessions.
Several deputations provided overlapping concerns: Gun shots heard in the vicinity of their family homes; an observed firing range on the undeveloped land behind them; and a lack of bylaws on firearm usage in the township. A request by one deputant was for Tiny to consider a bylaw to prohibit and regulate the discharge of firearms.
Council thanked the residents for their deputations – a means for citizens to provide information to the municipality – and responded that the matter would be addressed later in the month.
Prior to Wednesday’s council meeting, an email was sent out to “everyone” by Georgian Bay Hunters and Anglers Inc. that claimed “Tiny Cottagers are trying to get a bylaw passed that would prohibit the discharge of firearms” in the township, encouraging attendance for the “discharge bylaw."
At the meeting, roughly 50 audience members in the chamber filed to standing room along its edges; a majority wore camouflage jackets. It was stated that another 130 to 150 persons were located outside the building.
Following tame in-person awards for municipal service recognition and high school bursaries, Mayor Dave Evans asked if there were any open deputations for council to hear.
Long-time Tiny property owner Michael Frustaglio spoke of the subject area, providing council updated information from what the concerned residents had only assumed.
“(My property) starts at the bottom of Raven Hill Dr. There’s two acres on the bottom half of the land, and the top half raises up 100 feet (~30 metres) to the Nipissing Ridge and it extends north; it’s quite a nice woodlot with some vacant empty space on the bottom.”
Tiny resident Ernest Reid joined the deputations, providing his insight as a 30-year career firearms instructor, who has visited the property.
“I found the site to be set up in a very limited and safe manner,” stated Reid. “My observations included that the shooting of .22 rimfire ammunition – if you don’t know what that is, it’s basically the smallest cartridge you can get – was done on a limited basis from a fixed position; a picnic table. Shooting appeared to be done out to 50 yards (~45.7 metres) using appropriate .22 rimfire commercial small metal swinging targets.
“The person shooting small ammunition from 50 yards to hit small targets is a precision-accuracy thing, it’s not a spray-and-pray bullets flying all over the place. At the end was a very high sandy hill, higher than most gun clubs have. To me, it was precision rimfire shooting conducted in a totally safe manner,” Reid summarized.
What Frustaglio and Reid took issue with primarily revolved around pedestrians using a path that extended into his property despite many signs alerting outsiders of its usage.
Said Frustaglio: “My son put (signs) up so people would be aware that there would be target shooting. He went to the extreme end to ensure that the signage was there, top and bottom of the ridge – on our own property by the way, which people are trespassing on.”
When council members had a chance to speak, they informed the attendees of some key points.
Evans immediately told the crowd: “there’s nothing on the agenda that pertains to any change, implementation or contemplation, nor anything to do with firearms on tonight.”
Coun. Kelly Helowka, a retired RCMP officer, expressed his own challenge and success needed to get a possession and acquisition licence, and stated: “Nobody’s going to pull the wool over this council’s eyes as far as giving us misinformation or anything else.”
Hearty applause followed his remark.
Education from municipal staff and partner engagement was staked as Coun. Steffen Walma’s point, as he told attendees that a communal conversation would need to happen so everyone could feel safe.
“If I (lived) in that neighbourhood,” Walma shared, “I (would) want to know what is entailed in making a gun range safe for me.”
Regular council ended and after a five minute break the committee of the whole began; attendance in the chamber petered out to roughly 15; consisting of scheduled presenters, regular council attendees, and a few remaining from the larger club mass.
Additional comments were provided to the committee regarding forests and park bylaws in Simcoe County as well as a duty to consult Indigenous and Métis groups, prompting Helowka to share that it was “way too premature for us, we haven’t obtained all the information.”
CAO Robert Lamb pitched in that any proposed changes to the zoning bylaw – which he reiterated wasn’t being contemplated – would require a fully public engagement process.
Nearing the end of the evening, the committee of the whole had the opportunity to discuss the original firearm concern deputations from early November. Walma proposed that a staff report be brought to council, to the agreement of Evans.
“I think frankly that a lot of discussion in the last few days, not to be rude, was misinformation. I don’t think a lot of people understand what the status quo is, so to speak,” said Evans. “We’re not in a position ourselves – and not to be rude, I don’t think the community’s in a position right now – to understand both sides; what’s fully involved with everything and where we sit.”
Evans added that following due investigation and education: “Then it will be our job to educate the community.”
A motion was passed for staff to review and report back to council outlining: existing gun regulations including gun ranges; existing municipal bylaws that deal with the discharge of firearms; the application of bylaws as it relates to county forests and provincial parks; and the duty to consult.
Archives of council meetings are available to view on the Township’s YouTube channel.
