Council agrees to ban smoking in parks (updated)

Sault Ste. Marie City Council has agreed tonight to prohibit smoking at City playgrounds and recreation areas, and at the Roberta Bondar tent pavilion and at special events.

No bylaw was passed tonight, but councillors agreed to pass one at a future meeting.

A draft bylaw considered tonight prohibits smoking within 15 metres of any playground area, recreation field, or any entrance to the Bondar tent.

It also says no person can smoke while under the tent pavilion.

Wording of the bylaw will be fine-tuned by the City's legal department before it returns to City Council for approval.

The move comes in response to an initiative by Algoma Public Health to curb smoking in public places and reduce exposure to second-hand smoke.

Janet Allen, a public health nurse with Algoma Public Health. was on hand at last night's meeting to answer any questions.

Allen said the health unit was responding to calls from the public when it decided to bring this issue to City Council.

Both Allen and Ward 2 Councillor Terry Sheehan reported that things are very different since earlier tobacco battles in Sault Ste. Marie.

"We're in a different place than we were when we first brought in the smoke-free bylaws," said Allen. "People's attitudes are changing and it's becoming less acceptable to smoke in public."

Ward 5 Councillor Frank Fata argued against the bylaw, believing that the health unit was trying too hard to legislate common sense.

Fata said he doesn't believe it's right to create bylaws aimed at telling people what and how to think.

But he still voted in favour of a bylaw last night.

The park-smoking bylaw calls for signs warning people not to smoke to be placed in public places.

Fines for disregarding those signs could go as high as $5,000, said Algoma Public Health tobacco enforcer Allen Look.

But tickets are usually $350.