Halloween in northern city and village limit treat seekers

Two communities in northeastern New Brunswick see bylaws governing Halloween trick or treating differently. Bathurst's mayor wants to loosen a 20-year-old bylaw; while in Balmoral, the mayor thinks a stricter policy can keep children safe.

"We're trying to put it in a timeframe where we ensure securityin the municipality and try to do our bestthat nothing happens. We'lltry it and see how it works," said Charles Bernard, mayor ofBalmoral.

The village plans to test a new policy limiting the hours for trick or treaters between 2 to7 p.m. Bernard said with the help of the villagefirefighters he's hoping to slow traffic as anadded precautionfor the trick or treaters.

Shift - NB10:56Halloween rules in Northern NB

Bathurst's mayor wants to relax age and time limits in the name of fun, while Balmoral's cites security for 7 p.m. cut offMeanwhile, 55 kilometres down the highway, the city of Bathurst wants to repeal a 20-year-old bylaw that restricts the age of trick or treaters to 14 and limits the hours they can go door to door.

• Bathurst bylaw: No trick-or-treating after 7 p.m., must be under 14

Bathurstmayor Paolo Fongemie thinks the bylaw was created to curb pranksters at that time, but feels things are now different and questions if a bylaw is even needed to govern Halloween.

"Comments that I get from young parents is that between them working, having to go pick up the kids from the daycare...they might be hitting the streets at sixor six-thirty," said Fongemie.

He wants the city to be attractive to young parents, so he's hoping by next year they can change the bylaw.

For this Halloween, both communities will have a policy and a bylawlimiting the hours treat seekers can spend going door to door. And both are willing to make changes to appease their citizens.

"If we realize that we have to extend the time to eight o'clock because it's better off and will give a little more time to people," said Bernard.