THE CITY OF MONTREAL HAS ADOPTED A NEW BY-LAW ABOUT THE USE OF WOOD FIREPLACES ON ITS TERRITORY

 

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared that the fine particles emitted by fireplace fires are carcinogenic.

According to Montreal’s Director of Public Health, pollutants generated by residential wood fireplace heating have contributed to winter smog on a total of 87 days over the past five years.

Who is concerned by this by-law ?

 

All Montreal homeowners are concerned, except those with propane, natural gas and pellet installations. Before October 2018, there were approximately 85,000 homes on the island of Montreal with a wood fireplace or stove, including nearly 50,500 in the city’s 19 boroughs.

The commercial sector, such as pizzerias and bagel shops, is excluded.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR USERS?

 

All owners of wood fireplaces or stoves must fill in a form to declare the existence of their installations to the City of Montreal. If you don’t declare it, you can be fined. The fine can be between $100 and $500 for a citizen’s first offence but it can go up to $1,000 for a first offence and $2,000 for subsequent offences.

Owners who do not have a wood-burning stove or fireplace may now install one if the appliance emits less than 2.5 grams per hour (g/h) of fine particles into the atmosphere.

 

WHAT HAS HAPPENED SINCE OCTOBER 2018?

 

Since October 2018, wood fireplaces or stoves must not emit more than 2.5 g/h of fine particles.

Since this date, owners of non-compliant wood-burning installations must replace them or make them less polluting and respect the new by-law.

WHAT ARE OTHER CITIES DOING?

 

For now, Montreal is the first city in Quebec to adopt such a by-law concerning wood-burning fireplaces and stoves in homes, but other cities such as Ville Mont-Royal, Beaconsfield, Dollard-Des-Ormeaux, Hampstead, Pointe-Claire and Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue also have by-laws to regulate wood heating.

For every project we design, we plan to update the fireplaces during the renovation work.