Ottawa Christmas parade float issued noise complaint for caroling a little too long

An Ottawa businessman participating in a Christmas-themed parade received a $110 fine for excessive noise for caroling just a little bit longer than the rest of the holiday floats.

The Ottawa Sun reports that the owner of Junk to Funk, a junk removal company, was issued a citation for excessive noise about 15 minutes after the Orléans parade of lights came to an end Saturday evening.

A company truck had been pulling a garbage bin trailer in the parade, covered in Christmas lights and filled with children. When the parade ended and the truck left the parade scene, the lights remained on and the music remained loud. Apparently too loud. The driver was issued an excessive noise ticket under the Highway Traffic Act.

Can I hear a "Bah, Humbug?"

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Sure, it's not clear why the driver needed to keep rocking the lights and music 15 minutes after the parade had ended. And it probably didn't help that it was funk music coming out of the speakers.

But on the night of the city's Christmas parade, shouldn't a little bit of leniency be granted?

Then again, this could be a case of the squeaky wheel getting the media coverage. An article (and video) on the Ottawa Sun website (and I guess here as well) surely covers the cost of the ticket – which he says he'll just donate to charity anyway.

But it could also be a sign of things to come. Perhaps society is coming to believe there are limited times and specific places for Christmas tomfoolery.

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Earlier this year, New York City's annual Sidewalk Santa Parade was cancelled outright. Usually held on what is now best known as Black Friday, the organization behind the event decided it wasn't worth the hassle.

And last year, Shoppers Drug Mart made headlines when it announced it would stow away the Christmas music in early November because the carols were making people angry. The carols came back a little closer to Christmas Eve, when shoppers were more open to enforced holiday merriment.

More than likely, these are just a few instances of toned-down Christmas cheer, but they could all be part of a larger trend. After all, we don’t see very many door-to-door carolers anymore, do we? That old tradition has all but faded away because it was too invasive.

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