City consults business owners on smoking bylaw

MIRIAM HILL

Non-smokers in Iqaluit may soon get a breath of fresh air when they go out to eat or have a coffee.

The city is researching anti-smoking bylaws in other municipalities in the hope of drafting one to suit its needs.

At a consultation meeting with about 12 restaurant and bar owners last week, Mayor John Matthews heard the concerns and wishes of the city’s service industry players.

Iqaluit has no smoking bylaw in its books other than one that makes it illegal to smoke in municipal buildings and taxis.

Hundreds of municipalities in the South are moving toward 100 per cent smoke-free public areas. Sarah MacRury, executive assistant to the city’s chief administrative officer, said Iqaluit has a higher percentage of smokers than many cities in the South — so the issue should be taken even more seriously here.

About 64 per cent of people across the territory smoke. Among people aged 15 to 19, the number rises to 75 per cent.

Inuit women have among the highest rates of lung cancer in the world and respiratory illness among Inuit children on Baffin Island has reached epidemic proportions.

The bylaw, she told the assembled group of business owners, is not a tool to make people quit smoking, but a way to protect the health of non-smokers and those who are too young to decide for themselves.

There are no smoke-free restaurants in Iqaluit. Some offer non-smoking tables, but there are none offering a truly separated environment.

“We must go slowly”

Rainer Launhardt, the general manager of the Frobisher Inn, said there has been some progress on the non-smoking front. When he arrived a few years ago, the inn had 50 rooms, three of which were designated as non-smoking. Now there are 95 rooms, 45 of which are non-smoking.

The inn’s dining room went completely non-smoking for one day just before Christmas, and then began offering non-smoking tables as demand increased.

The hotel also has a coffee bar in its lobby catering mostly to government employees working next door. There is a division between smoking and non-smoking tables, but the smoke moves freely throughout the corridor.

“For now, we cater to the smokers,” he said, because that’s who most of his clients are. That may change down the road when the area is renovated and it’s possible to install a truly separate smoking section.

“We must go slowly,” he told city officials. The sentiment was echoed by many around the table.

Gilles Lacroix, co-owner of The Snack, said his restaurant used to see 300 people passing through its doors each day for a coffee and a smoke. That, too, has changed.

About four months ago, he said, management decided to ban loiterers from smoking in the restaurant. Coffee sales dropped dramatically, he admits, but the restaurant smells much better and more families have been coming in for meals. They had stopped coming, he said, because it was just too smoky.

“We’ll do it,” he said, referring to adhering to a smoking bylaw, “but we’ll do it slowly.” Lacroix said managment is working toward having one-quarter of The Snack designated non-smoking.

Not any time soon

What needs to be decided is just how encompassing an anti-smoking bylaw will be. Some Southern cities such as Victoria, B.C., and Ottawa boast 100 per cent smoke-free bars and restaurants. In September, Yellowknife banned smoking in all businesses except bars.

A number of bar owners at the meeting expressed concern that a ban on smoking in bars would have a negative impact on their sales and even cause problems outside the establishments, where hordes would huddle to smoke. Launhardt said management tried a non-smoking night at The Frobisher Inn’s Tulugaq Bar. It was well received, but lasted only one night.

“I don’t recommend changing that any time soon,” Launhardt said. “There is a problem with sending people outside to smoke because they end up in line again. The bar scene will have to come much later.”

Issues such as enforcement, percentage of floor space designated non-smoking and the definition of a non-smoking area still need to be discussed and hammered out.

Business owners at the meeting requested time to read the sample bylaws from other municipalities provided by MacRury before coming to any consensus.

A second consultation meeting with possible bylaw models will be held in coming months.