'It's prettier at night': CBRM residents decry decision to ban nighttime parades

People around Cape Breton Regional Municipality are angered and saddened at council's decisionWednesday to ban nighttime parades.

Many Christmas parades around CBRM are typically held at night so all of the lights can be better displayed.

But council voted 7-4 to ban nighttime parades to make such events saferafter there were two safety incidents at local parades over the past two years and a child died at a parade in Yarmouth, N.S., last year.

Cindy Ford of Dominioncalled the ban a shame.

"It's been a tradition for many, many years and the townlooks forward to it," she said.

'A lot of people don't want a daytime parade,' says resident

Dorothy Gillis, also of Dominion, said councillors should stick to what people want.

"I'm sure a lot of people don't want a daytime parade.It's prettier at night, it's prettier for the kids at night," she said.

Coun.Amanda McDougall voted against banning nighttime parades. She took to social media after the decision to let her constituents know about the ruling and to get some feedback.

"People are really, really sad," said McDougall. "These are community traditions that go well beyond the creation of the CBRM and bring people together."

McDougall said people are angry because the public was not consulted on the ban.

'A short-sighted decision,' says fire chief

Lloyd MacIntosh is the fire chief of the North Sydney Volunteer Fire Department. He doesn't believe council did enough research before councillors made the decision to proceed with a ban.

"I think it's a short-sighted decision," he said. "I think nighttime parades are vital to the spirit of Christmas and the parades themselves to the spirit of the community."

Another recommendation that will be brought up at the next council meeting is only having two parades a year in CBRM: the Santa Claus parade and the Pride parade.