Nighttime parades could be held in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality (CBRM) this year, provided they meet proposed enhanced safety requirements. A new staff report is recommending council approve updated parade safety rules and additional municipal resources for nighttime parades. The committee of the whole will discuss the report at a meeting on Tuesday. In October 2019, CBRM banned nighttime parades over safety concerns after a child died in an evening parade in Yarmouth in 2018. A child had also been injured at the CBRM Pride Parade in August 2019. In November 2023, council rescinded that motion and directed staff to recommend changes to allow safe community parades at night. No changes have been made and no permit applications for nighttime parades have been submitted in the last three years. Last month, council asked for a report on how parades could be safely held at night in the municipality. The report, which was submitted by interim police chief Stephen MacKinnon, noted nighttime parades require additional safety considerations compared to daytime ones, including traffic control, crowd management and liability issues. The report reviewed parades in Cape Breton, Halifax, Bridgewater, Kentville, New Glasgow, Truro and Yarmouth. It noted several best practices Cape Breton should adopt for its parade safety rules, including: “The CBRM needs additional resources from police and other municipal departments to adequately support traffic control measures at all intersections and entrance/exit points to restrict access to the entire parade route for the duration of the event,” the report reads. “Additional resources required from municipal personnel during parade events will incur additional wage costs that will need to be managed by each respective department within approved operating budgets.” Along with the staff report, the committee of the whole will vote on a motion that seeks to have Cape Breton Regional Police Service provide supports for nighttime Santa Claus parades in the municipality, starting this year. For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
