Item - 2021.EC21.11

The Economic and Community Development Committee recommends that:

1.  City Council amend City of Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 441, Fees and Charges and Chapter 442, Fees and Charges, Administration of to establish two new formal service categories to be called Cultural Fire Authorizations and Open Air Burn Permits, establish corresponding application processes for these new formal service categories, and update the fees and charges to establish an application fee for Cultural Fire Authorizations of $0 and an application fee for Open Air Burn Permits of $266.17, delete certain re-inspection fees related to the prior authorization process, and replace them with re-inspection fees for the new Open Air Burn Permit formal service category, as outlined in Attachment 1 to the report (April 13, 2021) from the Acting Fire Chief, Toronto Fire Services.

The Acting Fire Chief, Toronto Fire Services is requesting City Council amend City of Toronto Municipal Code Chapters 441 and 442 to create formal service categories concerning Open Air Burn Permits and Cultural Fire Authorizations and to implement the appropriate fee structure in accordance with the City's User Fee Policy.

Under the Ontario Fire Code, open-air burning is not allowed, with a specific exemption for small supervised cooking fires, unless it has been approved by an assistant to the Ontario Fire Marshal (which includes a municipal Fire Chief or designated staff of a municipal fire department); and is supervised at all times. Toronto Fire Services (TFS) has an existing process for the open-air burning approval required by the Ontario Fire Code; applicants submit an application for a City-issued "Open Air Burning Permit" and pay the associated fees. TFS staff attend the proposed burn location to validate the information provided, identify any specific site concerns, and review safety protocols with the responsible individual.

Most applications for Open Air Burning Permits relate to individual events, or commercial purposes (such as filming a scene for a film production or for internal training purposes for a private company). However, a portion of the Open Air Burning Permits TFS processes each year are for members of various communities within Toronto seeking to utilize an open-air burn, as defined by the Ontario Fire Code, in connection with a variety of cultural or religious practices involving the use of fire (hereafter referred to as a "Cultural Fire"). One such cultural or religious practice that is practiced by many Indigenous communities is the use of fire in what is referred to as an Indigenous Sacred Fire.

TFS' review of the City's Open Air Burning Permits, noted that approximately half of the Cultural Fire related applications for Open Air Burning Permits, involve Indigenous Sacred Fires. Because of the cultural significance of Indigenous Sacred Fires to Indigenous communities, TFS engaged with the City of Toronto Indigenous Affairs Office to ensure discussions with Indigenous community members could occur and that the proposed amendments are compatible with the City's overall reconciliation framework and strategy.

TFS is proposing to amend Municipal Code Chapter 442, Fees and Charges, Administration of, to establish two new formal service categories and application processes with respect to Ontario Fire Code approvals to reflect the community needs:

-  Approvals for open-air burning conducted in connection with a specific cultural or religious practice, ceremony, or event ("Cultural Fire Authorizations"); and

-  Approvals for other forms of open-air burning permits related to individual events, or commercial purposes ("Open Air Burn Permits").

TFS also proposes to amend Municipal Code Chapter 441, Fees and Charges, to adopt separate and differing fee categories for these two formal service categories in keeping with the City's User Fee Policy. Under the proposed amendment to Chapter 441, Open Air Burn Permits for private commercial events would be charged the current full cost recovery ($266.17), while the Cultural Fire Authorization would not be charged a user fee to the applicant seeking to oversee open-air burning as part of a cultural or religious practice, ceremony, or event.

In accordance with User Fee Policy, while fees are appropriate for municipal services where the benefits are primarily directed to specific individuals, groups, or businesses, services which benefit the general public at large are appropriately funded by general revenues. Providing the appropriate approvals so that members of the public may participate in the cultural and religious practices using open-air burning conducted in accordance with the Ontario Fire Code provide a group benefit to the respective communities and a benefit to the public as a whole. The proposed amendment to Chapter 441 establishing two differing fees for Open Air Burn Permits and Cultural Fire Authorizations will result in an estimated financial impact of a $3,726 reduction in the annual fee revenue within the Toronto Fire Services Operating Budget.

An equity analysis finds that Indigenous and Equity-seeking groups, including Immigrant, Refugee and Undocumented groups, and Racialized communities with cultural/religious practices that involve fire are positively impacted by the proposed amendments as these Equity-seeking groups will have improved access to this service required under the Ontario Fire Code.