Harrington residents oppose new ATV bylaw

Residents of Harrington showed up in force at the town's last two council meetings, where they presented a petition detailing their outrage at a new draft bylaw that proposes to severely limit the use of all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and ski-doos within municipal limits.

A petition to halt the proposed bylaw was signed by about 400 Harrington residents, representing about half of Harrington's population of 796.

Residents also launched a Facebook page entitled "Say no to potential ban of ATVs on ANY municipal roads in Harrington." About 155 people are currently registered on the page.

"Must be the ATVs and not the trucks that are tearing up the roads," wrote Michael Purcell on the Facebook site. "Next time I go up I think I'll drive up in a tank; it will be the only thing that will make it up in one piece. But if you can't ride on the road to get to the trails, is the council going to build you a big parking lot to park next to the trails?"

According to Harrington Councillor Claude LaRoque, the intention of the bylaw is to improve road safety and to prevent unlicensed and uninsured ATV drivers from driving on the roads and trespassing on private property. The council also wants to modify current provincial law so that the distance an ATV can operate, in proximity to a house in Harrington, is widened from 30 to 100 metres.

"We're trying to encourage the creation of an association to help monitor ATV use," said LaRoque. "The bylaw will ban foreign trucks from trucking in ATVs and having them zoom around on private property. We want to separate the farm use of ATVs from recreational use and limit the number of roads they can run on; to promote the use of proper recreational trails and to limit the hours of use to between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m."

According to LaRoque, the goal of the bylaw is to institute a system in which all local residents register their ATVs and skidoos and install a sticker on them designating that they are allowed on local trails. Visitors would be required to register at the town hall where they would pay a nominal fee to use local trails.

Section 2.3 of the bylaw further stipulates that the designated official, who is described as being a Sûréte du Quebec officer, a trail agent or municipal employee named as a designated official, "is allowed to visit and examine, between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., all moveable or immoveable properties, as well as the interior or exterior of any house, building or accessory building in order to ensure that the bylaw is being respected. All owners, tenants or occupants of these houses, buildings or accessory buildings must allow the designated official access to penetrate and answer all questions which are asked of him concerning the enforcement of this bylaw."

This section of the bylaw was lifted directly from the Quebec Municipal Code and according to municipal inspector Yohann DaSylva, who wrote the bylaw, it may not necessarily apply to this draft law, which he clarified is in the initial draft stage and is currently undergoing changes.

"This case is not final and can be modified," said DaSylva. "The only person in Quebec who doesn't need a warrant to enter a house is me (the municipal building inspector). If I believe something illegal is being done in the home, I can enter and inspect the premises.  The building inspectors, in some cases, have more authority than the police. We can make unscheduled visits so long as we have a justified reason."

DaSylva clarified that he never goes into a house unless he has a very good reason, and that such situations are very rare: "The goal is not to ban ski-doos and ATVs, it's to protect the rights of all citizens. We want approval before trails are built and council wants to make sure that people approve of having trails built on their property. We are for ATVs and ski-doos, but only under certain conditions."

Proponents to the bylaw say they feel the bylaw is a waste of tax dollars and signifies an invasion of their privacy and rights as landowners.

"Lots of people are very upset at council for trying to pass this law when there is already a law in place," said Harrington resident Jessica Poulter. "It's going to cost us money and they have no way to enforce it. It just doesn't make sense the way they're doing it."

Poulter referenced the fact that it is already illegal to trespass, it is illegal to drive ATVs on roads, and there is little recourse for the town to enforce a set of laws that are already policed by the Sûréte du Quebec.

"If [the council] push this forward it's going to upset a lot of people," she said. "In the first four hours our petition was out, we had 80 signatures voting against the bylaw. Everybody drives a four-wheeler up here. With the state of our roads it's the only transportation that makes sense."

The rights of farmers to use ATVs in the course of their daily operations have also not been addressed within this bylaw. No exceptions were made allowing for farmers to use ATVs outside of the designated hours. As the bylaw is currently written, a farmer who has to go out at midnight to repair a fence can be fined by the municipality if a complaint is issued.

Harrington resident David Bryant spent the day at the Lachute offices of the Sûréte du Quebec where he researched the law and prepared to present a request to the Provincial Trail Association to see if they would extend their trail network into Harrington.

"I spent an hour with the desk constable who told me it would be a waste of time because there are already laws covering this bylaw," he said. "There is a tolerance factor where [the police] will allow us to access trails so long as we are respecting the road laws and using them for travel from point to point."

Responded Harrington Mayor Keith Robson: "Our people get the blame for bikes tearing up the trails and the fields, when it is unorganized groups of outsiders doing the damage. It's a case of safety."