Editorial

Tough call on smoking by-law

Perhaps that’s why they make the big bucks.
Slave Lake Town councillors clearly will have their work cut out for them next month when they sift through the information, allegations and innuendo to come to a decision on their proposed smoking bylaw.
The new document proposes to make all businesses, bingo halls, shopping malls and eating establishments that allow residents under the age of 18 years designate 60 per cent of its space as no-smoking areas.
That’s up from the former bylaw that insisted just 40 per cent be set aside for non-smokers. But the Tobacco Coalition has tossed a monkey wrench into this process, challenging the idea of partial ban. It has set its sights on convincing councillors to ban smoking in all restaurants. Encouraging council to follow the lead of many communities across North America, its members stick to the contention that second-hand smoke is deadly – especially in young people. And its members have stuck to all smoking bylaw discussions like smelly on dirt.
If the sheer number of residents that squeezed themselves into council chambers last week –and stayed for the entire 90-minute public meeting — didn’t convince them, residents’ (several were mere babes in arms) willingness listen quietly and withstand the stifling heat and lack of air in the room should have at least scored some mighty points.
More than one third of restaurants were represented at the meeting, but the Tobacco Coalition had papered the community with fliers encouraging smoking ban supporters to show up and be counted. And the hoards responded as ordered.
Unfortunately, only four of seven council members were at that very important meeting that searched for public comment on three proposed bylaws. Advertisements for the same meeting also invited support or opposition on another five or six where development officer Laurie Skrynyk was asking for second and third reading.
But the length of the agenda didn’t seem to matter to residents who decided this was one bylaw worth scrapping over. Or at least talking about. (Actually, most of them left after all had delivered their two cents worth on the smoking bylaw.)
Not since the community and the NIMBY (Not in My Back Yard) squads debated the location for the proposed Roman Catholic Separate school 10 or 12 years ago has council chambers been so crammed. And emotions were running almost as high last week as residents told the abbreviated version of council exactly how they feel about cigarette smoke. And business representatives countered that making room for their smoking customers is just as important as good service in the drive to keep business alive.
We suppose councillors who missed the meeting will make a point of listening to the audiotapes – or at least we’d hope they will. Much of what was said has been shared with council before, but the emotion was tight as a fiddle string, reverberating in the voices as presenters made their respective presentations.
Maybe you had to be there. Or maybe not.
Too bad the television camera that used to record all council meetings is gone. Because audio recordings will never show the sweat that beaded some brows. Nor will it show all those cute little babies sleeping so quietly while their Moms took up the charge.
Clearly this is one debate that’s gonna come down to a choice --between supporting business or one lobby group’s push to catapult Slave Lake into the brave new smoke-reduced world. Guess that’s why they make the big bucks.