Hampstead, Que. bans woodstoves

The town of Hampstead, Que., is banning wood stoves in an effort to reduce air pollution on the island of Montreal.

The demerged city in Montreal's west end adopted a new bylaw last week that bans the installation of new wood-burning stoves and fireplace-inserts that burn wood or other solids.

By-law 729-2 declares that "no person shall install a wood burning appliance, in which wood or solid fuel is burned, and which discharges combustion products to the air, in or about any residential property."

Residents who already own such stoves will have to remove them or convert them within seven years, said Hampstead Mayor William Steinberg.

But the new bylaw won't affect fireplaces or barbecues.

"We have an awful lot of fireplaces in Hampstead, and I don't think anyone would agree to getting rid of fireplaces," he told CBC.

"However, most of the fireplaces really aren't used that much. I've got a fireplace that hasn't been used in about a decade, so they're not really contributing to the smog problem.

"Wood-burning stoves, however, are used continuously, and they create an incredible amount of pollution" that is a health hazard for old people, young people, and people who have respiratory diseases, Steinberg said.

Hampstead's bylaw comes as the city of Montreal considers whether it should regulate wood-burning stoves.

The city made a public plea last spring, asking people to use their stoves less often.

Wood stoves came back into vogue in the greater Montreal region after the 1998 ice storm, when thousands of households left powerless had them installed as an alternate source of heat.