Last survivor of Churchill government

Tensions erupted in a Montreal suburb after councillors voted to pass a contentious summer-long ban on leaf blowers.

Protesters gathered with signs outside city hall in Beaconsfield, Que., as a debate that has divided the community’s 20,000 residents came to a head Monday evening.

Mayor Georges Bourelle said councillors voted 5-1 in favour of banning leaf blowers between June 1 and Sept. 30 starting next year, despite vocal opposition from many of the more than 100 residents who attended the meeting.

Police were called as a precaution after one councillor was allegedly threatened by a person who opposed the regulations, the mayor said.

Bourelle said he could barely get a word out between the heckling, yelling and other disruptions from the crowd.

During question period, some protesters shouted down neighbours who voiced their support for the regulations, he said.

“I think a number of (supporters) would have come up to the mic, but ... after they saw the intimidation and the bullying that took place, I doubt that they were willing to do it.”

Bourelle said leaf blowers raise health concerns due to noise and air pollution, as well as the dispersion of fine particles he says can contribute respiratory and cardiovascular illness.

He cited World Health Organization guidelines on exposure to noise and airborne particulate matter, saying there are studies to suggest that leaf blowers violate these standards.

But opponents of the leafblower restrictions refute Bourelle’s claims as not backed up by concrete evidence.

The managing director of the Canadian Urban Environmental Health Research Consortium has said the health effects of prolonged exposure to noise, fuel emissions and airborne particles have been well documented, but more research is needed to assess the actual level of risk posed by leaf blowers.

Several business owners have rallied against the summer-long ban on leaf blowers, saying the landscaping tool is essential to their operations during peak season.