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All Smoke and Mirrors, but the Issue Won't Disappear

By Elaine Macdonald

There will not be a referendum on making all  places 100 % smoke free, at least not this year.

Prince George City Council has denied a request to have a question about smoking piggy-backed with the municipal ballot  this fall.

The Clean Air Coalition wanted a referendum that would ask voters if they would like to see all public places 100% smoke free. According to the coalition, section 83.1 if the municipal charter says a Council has the right to ask the public for its opinion. The Coalition says this is the type of question the Council should put before the people. 

The Prince George Pub Association says if the referendum is non binding, as the Coalition alleges, then this is just another survey. Association Spokesman, Ted Coole worries that special interest groups will be on the road to forcing Council to revisit all sorts of issues, like alcohol at the CN Centre.

Mayor Kinsley notes, he is not willing to open the door to this kind of governance, “You don’t need us, why not just put two or three questions on a ballot every three years, and govern according to that?”

Pub Association rep Ted Coole says, Prince George is the only city to have settled this issue twice, once with the province, with all the principles at the table,
Second, in Council Chambers. Coole says the Workers Compensation Board’s Bruce Clark is satisfied with the current system of designated smoking rooms that it is easy to enforce and WCB is pretty happy with the results. 

Bottom line, says Councilor Scott,  "we learned our lesson with the battle of the hockey enforcers, we shouldn't be telling people what they can or cannot see, or in this case, do.  They should  have freedom of choice on where they want to go. "

Councilor Dezel voted in favour of the referendum idea, saying it would help push the Provincial Government into doing what it should do, and that is making all restaurants, bar, any place where people gather, smokefree.

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