Smoking Ban in Ontario
Ont. passes tough smoking ban legislation
Canadian Press
TORONTO — Fears that restaurants, bars and casinos will lose smokers' business were dismissed in favour of health concerns Wednesday as Ontario passed what it boasts is the "most aggressive anti-tobacco legislation in North America.''
The provincial legislature voted 71 to 6 pass the Smoke-Free Ontario Act -- a blanket ban on smoking in all indoor public and workplaces, that will take effect across the province starting in June 2006.
The bill gives Ontario retailers until June 2008 to get rid of so-called power walls that display cigarettes and remove them from the sight of minors.
"I'm very proud of this legislation,'' Premier Dalton McGuinty told reporters.
"We're taking a strong stand against tobacco, and by so doing, standing up for the health of Ontarians.''
McGuinty said tobacco is the No. 1 cause of preventable illness in the province, killing 16,000 Ontarians a year and costing the provincial economy $2.7 billion annually in lost productivity.
"It costs the health-care system alone $1.6 billion,'' he said.
Health Minister George Smitherman defended the decision to include legion halls in the ban, despite pleas by seniors' groups to grant an exemption to Canada's war veterans.
"Eighty per cent of Ontario's adults don't smoke, and that applies to those that fought in wars,'' said Smitherman.
"Everyone deserves an equal right to be able to enjoy their indoor space without harmful effect.''
Critics, like Niagara-area Conservative Tim Hudak, one of six Tories who voted against the bill, warned the ban would hurt restaurants, bars and casinos.
"I have no doubt that it's going to impact on the border casinos, on charity gaming, and the hospitality sector,'' he said.
"I don't think this government has accounted for the loss in money at the casinos as a result of this bill.''
But the government and the New Democrats said everyone has a right to work in a non-toxic environment.
"It's an important health and safety issue,'' said NDP house leader Peter Kormos.
"However, New Democrats have also called on the government to note there will be some financial hardship both in the corner store industry and to tobacco farmers.''
Agriculture Minister Steve Peters said there is a $35-million transition fund to help tobacco farmers switch to other crops, and $15 million to help communities in southwestern Ontario, where most of Canada's tobacco is grown, to attract new investment.
"The challenge is there is no silver bullet to replace tobacco,'' said Peters.
"We do have tremendous opportunities from the industrial hemp standpoint, which has no hallucinogenic properties.''
Peters said Ontario had more than 2,000 tobacco growers 10 years ago, but that number is now down to about 600, with about 200 farmers getting out of the business in just the past year.
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Now, am I the only non-smoking Canadian citizen who is outraged by this?
The Canadian Government has gone to extreme lengths to alienate smokers, make them feel and seem like animals, and yet, they do not have the bridges enough to ban smoking completely, as in, not sell them to the public.
This is a disgrace! The Canadian Government is so busy making many non-smoking patrons happy, that they fail to remember that they are still making billions each year in tobacco sales.
What about the war veteran at the local Legion, who likes to light up, since it's the only fun he gets? What about my mother, who is a dedicated nurse and has been for nearly twenty years, and wants to smoke cigarettes on her break instead of listening to bitching nurses in the staff room?
The current Canadian Government can bite my @ss.