Salvation Army bells banned at Toronto malls

The Fill the Kettle campaign has been a part of the Salvation Army's fundraising efforts in the U.S. and Canada for 118 years. (Associate Press)

The ringing of Salvation Army bells has been one of the iconic sounds of the holiday season for more than 100 years in North America, but at least two of Toronto's largest shopping malls — the Eaton Centre and Fairview — have silenced them because of noise complaints.

Salvation Army volunteer Riley Blake spends many hours with his red Christmas kettle inside the downtown Eaton Centre collecting donations from passersby. The plastic kettles have become synonymous with the Salvation Army's yearly Fill the Kettle charity campaign, but Blake says some people don't even know he's there.

"A lot of people ask us questions, 'Why don't we use the bells,' because they're so used to it. [We tell them it's] because of rules and regulations we're not allowed to. There's not much you can do about it — just stand here quietly and smile."

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