Hooting and hollering now legal in Bracebridge, Ont.

New bylaw allows such ‘human noises’ to be made between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m. Drunken singing on Main St. at 2 a.m. will still get you a ticket, though.

Thestar.com
March 23, 2016
By Dan Taekema

Go have a hoot in Bracebridge. It’s legal now.

If you’re feeling brave, you can even holler - the town’s bylaw office won’t charge you - but there are limits.

“Daytime hooting only please,” joked Scott Stakiw, chief bylaw enforcement officer for the Muskoka community.

During Wednesday’s town council meeting, a new noise bylaw was approved that allows for “yelling, shouting, hooting or similar noises made by a human.”

Before the changes, those “human noises” were deemed illegal at all times.

“Years ago, the province came out with a model noise control bylaw and the majority of municipalities in Ontario basically adopted it verbatim,” said Stakiw, who explained that model contained some “antiquated terms” from the 1980s.

“I agree, the word hooting is hilarious, but that’s the way it’s written in there.”

What exactly hooting - or even hollering - sounds like seems open to interpretation.

When asked to provide an example of either noise, Graydon Smith, the town’s mayor, said: “That is subjective and really up to the individual ears of the citizens of our community to determine.”

Under the new bylaw, cranked radios will still be prohibited during the day, but hooting, cheering and similar noises are only prohibited between the hours of 11 p.m. and 7 a.m.

Stakiw said his department hasn’t been dealing with a hooting “crisis,” but had received some inquiries about kids and summer camps, which prompted the town to look into updating its current laws.

“Kids get excited and they potentially can yell, hoot or holler,” he said. “So I said, ‘Why don’t we just go from an outright prohibition of this type of noise to just during the night when it’s more likely to be adults doing it.’ ”

Sadly, that means having a noisy nighttime hootenanny or drunkenly singing at 2 a.m. on Main St. will still get you a ticket.

The proposed change faced little opposition, but some staff thought the limit for noise should be set at 9 p.m., which led to a polite debate full of personal anecdotes.

“I feel that we are giving people duct tape across their mouths if it’s 9 o’clock and they must now go home,” said Oakley Ward Councillor Barb McMurray, a self-described “pretty good hooter,” who pushed for the limit to be set at 11 p.m.

District Councillor Steven Clement added that he has a friend with a “very loud voice” who “projects very well.” “His normal voice at a campfire would be against the law, but I think by 11 o’clock we could subdue him ... I think we have to be a little realistic with this.”

While he supported the change, Peter deMos, who operates LIV Outside, an adventure and gear store in town, acknowledged Muskoka can get pretty loud during the summer, especially when sound carries over water, so some sort of limit is needed.

“People come here for peace and quiet,” he said. “They leave Toronto on the weekend to go to their cottage and relax.”

But, he quickly added, that doesn’t mean all noise should be banned.

“People are going to hoot and holler around a campfire at 10 p.m. because they’re on vacation and that should be cool.”

The bylaw was passed unanimously Wednesday evening and while Stakiw said he was happy with the change, he did anticipate a potential problem.

“I hope Bracebridge doesn’t get put on the map as the king of Ontario hooting.”

Strange Canadian bylaws, from Halifax to Toronto

Hootin’ and hollerin’ aren’t the only behaviours banned by strange Canadian bylaws. Here are some of the rules you don’t even know you’re breaking

No whistling in Petrolia, Ont.
Like Bracebridge, the small town of Petrolia used to have a bylaw to limit excessive noise at night, but theirs went one step further to include “whistling or singing,” which is prohibited at all times. The bylaw was updated in 2009, ending the veil of silence.

You can’t attach a siren to your bike in Sudbury, Ont.
Don’t be alarmed. While horns and bells are allowed on bikes in the northern Ontario town, sirens have been outlawed since 1973.

Cabbies can’t wear T-shirts in Halifax
Things really heat up for cab drivers in Halifax during the summer months. The city’s Regional Municipality Bylaws for Taxis and Limousines say drivers must wear shoes and socks and absolutely cannot wear a T-shirt.

Can’t paint a wooden ladder in Alberta
The province’s Occupational Health and Safety Code banned the practice in 2009, but it’s for a good reason - to ensure the condition of the ladder. You “wooden” want to cause an accident.

No swimming in Lake Ontario
The phrase “go jump in the lake” has never been more inappropriate. The Toronto Port Authority bans swimming anywhere in the harbour that hasn’t been designated a swimming area by the city of Toronto.

People are not permitted to wear a snake in Fredericton
Want to wear a snake or carry a pet lizard on your shoulder in public? Too bad, a bylaw prohibits it unless the animal is kept in a container. No word on whether or not feather boas are allowed.

Don’t drag a dead horse down Yonge St. on Sundays in Toronto
You’ve probably heard the saying about beating a dead horse, but an old Toronto bylaw took it one step further. Under the law, citizens of the fair city were not allowed to drag a dead horse down the city’s main street on the Sabbath.