Smoking ban moves forward
Charlottetown council gives first reading to new bylaw
“We want to have a clean, vibrant community. We want people, when they’re on the boardwalk and are walking, jogging and running, to do so in a smoke-free environment, and this is a great step forward.’’ Coun. Mitchell Tweel
The City of Charlottetown has a new bylaw in the works that will ban smoking at indoor and outdoor city-owned properties.
That includes parking lots, parks, boardwalks, the Confederation Trail and on park benches.
The new smoking bylaw passed first reading at city council’s regular public monthly meeting on Monday night.
A draft of the bylaw notes that the main issues are with the Eastlink Centre and the city rinks, including the Bell Aliant Centre, during major hockey tournaments.
“What I’ve noticed is that there is a tremendous amount of smoking in our recreational outdoor facilities like playgrounds, in around where children are (and) on the boardwalk where people are out walking and want to be able to breathe clean air,’’ said Coun. Mitchell Tweel, chairman of the city’s parks and recreation department.
“The bylaw gives us the teeth, gives us the wherewithal to work with the community, to educate the community. We want to have a clean, vibrant community. We want people, when they’re on the boardwalk and are walking, jogging and running, to do so in a smokefree environment, and this is a great step forward.’’
The proposed fine for violation is between $50 and $500 or up to 30 days in jail in the case of default of payment. An offender found guilty twice could be banned from the sport or recreation facility for 14 days.
Tweel said the onus will be on smokers to find a place where they can smoke that doesn’t infringe on clean air where people congregate. In regards to enforcement, it goes without saying that the city’s bylaw enforcement officer can’t be in multiple places at the same time. The city, however, has a plan.
“Well, I think our first course of action is education,’’ he said. “We want to go out and educate the community and then we will do everything from putting it on our website, getting the message out and if there’s problem areas then our staff will deal with that.’’
The bylaw should receive second and third reading at the March public meeting of council. After that point, it will be enacted. A provincial Smoke-Free Places Act already bans smoking in most public places.