When will the car driving madmen be stopped? All I want to do is heat my home! Shakes head and mutters under breath…

The #1 cause of smog in Montreal is cars and trucks – not wood stoves. And, this measure grandfathers in existing wood stoves while doing nothing to update older, more polluting stoves. If the city were serious, they would offer financial incentives for old wood stove owners to upgrade to less polluting stoves. This policy, by the way, was effectively used in the U.S. to replace older, polluting cars in the 1980′s and 90′s with less polluting ones.

Via: pgcitizen.ca

MONTREAL – Montreal’s city government is considering a law to ban wood stoves in a bid to fight smog.

The law, which is being touted as one of the strictest in Canada, would prevent people from installing wood stoves in new or existing residential homes.

Stoves that burn wood pellets will still be allowed as will wood stoves in such businesses as restaurants.

Alan DeSousa, the city’s executive committee member responsible for sustainable development, says smog has been a particular problem in Montreal this winter.

Environment Canada has issued 25 smog alerts for Montreal so far this winter.

Montreal has about 50,000 wood stoves on its territory and DeSousa says banning them will contribute to preventing premature deaths caused by bad air quality.