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Acepd j~.gWeekend A Metroland Commumty Newspaper Vol. 144 No. 10 Friday, April 18, 200 32 Pages $1 .00 (GST included) vRegional smoking bylaw bid squashed Bv JASON MISNER The Champion. The pursuit of a possible Halton-wide smoking bylaw bas been snuffed out. On Wednesday, regional council narrmwly voted 10-8 against a motion to reconsider opening up discussion of creating a Halton-wide smoking bylaw. The motion, if approved, would have given the region's four municipalitiea - who have enacted their own smoking bylaws - the opportunity to vote to detennane if they, in principle, agite that there should be a single bylaw acroaa Halton. From there, a draft smoking bylaw wossld have been constructed and voted upon by regional and local councils to become officiai. While the issue is dead with this csirrens region- ai council, a Halton-wide smoking bylaw could fiait up again after a new regional counicil is formed following the November civic elections. Counciilors wiIl be able to bring up a motion for reconsideration, if they choose, to pursue a itgion- wide smoking bylaw. Like the one tumned down Wednesday, council would have one kick at tihe can to create such a unifonn bylaw. Counciors feel dejected For now, councillors Jeif Knoll and Rick Malboeuf - the two ouspoken regionai politi- cians who bandied together to bring the smoking issue to the itgionai council table - said they feel dejected by the decision. "Unfortunately, the politicai will isn't theit," Mr. Malboeuf said. The counicillors brought the motion forward because they saa they weit concemed by the bodge-podge of smoking bylaws that exist in each municipality, and felt a region-wide bylaw would create a much-needed level playing field. sDespite tse decision, ihey saa they stili feel smoking is a itgionai public healts issue. "I'm disappointed, but 1 stifi stand by what I've said, that smoking is a regional issue," Mr. Knoll aa after Use council meeting. "What we tried to do was draft a motion to give enough room for compromise and a teamn approach to the smoking issue." Mr. Knoll haa itgisteitd to mun in Use nexi elec- tion. If he becomes a itgiona councillor, he said he would pursue a region-wide smoking bylaw again if Usat's what bis constituents wanted him to do. Thse two key issues raised by councillors against supporting Use motion to itconsider weiethUe fact Use bylaws have been in effect for about a year now and Usat Use Province should ha instituting an Ontaiio-wide smoking bylaw. Jason Misner can be reaLhed a: jmisner@mi- toncanadianchampion.comn Comment .....6-7 NS Report ....... 8 Lifestyles.10-12 Datolns .......15 Sports ...... .22-24 Classified .. 25-27 *Sâcw M W