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8 economist suntribune regional news thursday feb 17 2000 smoking issue pits residents against business these are just a far of the oier 100 liter related lonesses that threaten the tires of more than 2 million canadian men tinmen and children for 25 years now the canadian liter foundation has been hiding the fight against titer disease and to continue ue need vourbdp one simple act 0 kindness can go so tvry far 1320 yonge street suite 301 toronto ontario m4t 1x2 18005635433 ths message brought to you as a community sovoeof the econcmsttrfcune by lisa queen staff writer the health of residents was pitted against the inter ests of business owners at the first public meeting to debate york regions nosmoking bylaw to smoke or not to smoke that is the question whether smokers now in the minority be allowed to bombard us with their extremely dangerous sec ondhand smoke the answer has to be a resounding no dorothy lienau vicechairperson of the i york catholic district school board teacher job fair make a differbwce to catholic education visit our open house saturday february 19 2000 10 am to 2 pm catholic education centre 320 bloomington road west aurora ontario telephone 410 2215050 are you looking to share you talents and skills as an educator in an environment enhanced by spiritual christian values the york catholic district school board a growing board with over 44000 students in 65 elementary and secondary schools offers an ideal location near recreational and leisure activities and all the amenities of downtown toronto elizabeth crowe susan f la rosa chair of the board director of education and secretary of the board public notice 11 fisheries and oceans canada peches et oceans canada highway 407 east partial extension fisheries and oceans canada dfo acting as the responsible authority ra under the canadian environmentar assessment act ceaa is engaged in a screening level environmental assessment ea as required under section 201 of ceaa for the above noted project the 407 east partial extension involves the construction of a 159 km 4lane ultimate 10 lane toll highway from the highway 407 centre terminus highway 48 in the west to its terminus at highway 7 east of brougham in the region of durham construction of the highway 407 east partial extension can be commenced once the requirements of the federal ea have been completed public consultation is a significant component of the highway 407 east partial extension ceaa review as part of dfos federal environmental assessment under ceaa it is within the ministers discretion to invoke ceaa subsection 183 where the responsible authority ra is of the opinion that public participation in the screening of the project is appropriate in the circumstances the ra shall give the public notice and an opportunity to examine and make comment on the screening report the ceaa screening report prepared by the ra in this instance dfo will be available for public comment at the following locations markham community library pickering public library whitevale branch 475 whitevale road pickering ontario l0h1m0 the screening report will be available for the comment period february 9 2000 march 10 2000 all comments must be received prior to march 11 2000 accompanying documentation produced through the provincial ea process will also be available at the above locations if you would like to receive further information or provide written comments on the ceaa screening report please contact referrals coordinator fisheries and oceans canada fish habitat management ontario area 867 lakeshore road po box 5050 burlington ontario l7r 4a6 tel 905 3364595 fax 905 3366285 6031 highway 7 markham ontario l3p3a7 reg municipality of durham po box 623 605 rossland rd e whitby ontario newmarket heights community association said at the meeting in newmarkets council chambers tuesday night we need the most stringent laws in place to protect the innocent ban all smoking in all public places to say that smoke can be contained in a cer tain area is absolute hogwash it stays in the very air we breathe it cannot be filtered out it has to be stopped lienau complained smokers are costing the healthcare system millions of dollars a year bills that all taxpayers have to bear not only do smokers have a complete disre gard for other peoples comfort arid health but when they become sick from this addictive habit the taxpayer is then expected to foot their health bill she said so not only are we subjected to serious health risks due to secondhand smoke we then have to pay for their treatment for diseases they bring upon themselves is it any wonder hospitals are pushed to the limit its a case of people taking poison and demanding an antidote at others expense we have had enough of their selfish arrogant and irrespon sible behaviour about two dozen people turned out for the meeting with most pushing for what would amount to a regionwide ban passed by yorks nine municipalities the regions nosmoking task force chairperson vaughan councillor joyce frustaglio speculated the small turnout means there is little opposition to prohibiting smoking in all public places such as restaurants bars bingo halls bowling alleys work places shopping centres and municipal facilities im disappointed by the turnout but maybe the small numbers of people here is indicative that were doing a great job she said adding that because she has had two bouts with cancer getting a smoking ban is a personal crusade for me its a real real personal issue my dis ease was not related to smoking but im not taking any chances my life is too important to ma but lisa marsden manager of government rela tions for the restaurant hotel and motel association said businesses could be devastated by a smoking ban there are 2400 hospitality establishments across ontario 63 per cent of which are indepen dently owned were not talking about tim hortons and were not talking about mcdonalds 63 per cent are owned by mom and pop owners she said adding their profit margins are between 2 and 5 per cent marsden said the smoking ban that went in to effect new years day in the region of waterloo has had a huge impact on the bottom line of many businesses business owners are reporting ari average decrease ihsales of 159 per cent while the average business has cut employee hours by 31 hours a week the very staff this bylaw was meant to protect are feeling threatened she added marsden urged the task force to investigate new technology that she claims enables ventilation sys tems to completely clean smoke out of the air the device allows smokers to light up in areas where nonsmokers are congregating without affecting their health rusty parr hall manager of bingo country said a total ban would decimate bingo halls which would also jeopardize revenue that goes to com munity charities saying 75 per cent of his customers are smokers he urged the task force to allow bingo halls to set aside 40 per cent of their floor space for patrons who want to smoke newmarket fraud artist uncovered by rick vanderlinde staff writer a fraud artist who stole tens of thousands of dol lars from newmarket taxpayers set up phoney con struction companies to cash town cheques mayor tom taylor said this involved someone being able to fabricate companies that in fact did not exist taylor said these were constructiontype companies sup posedly related to various projects in the town the scheme involved numerous small cheques cashed over an extended period taylor said the sophisticated scheme now under investigation by york regional police unrav elled when an employee questioned an invoice last month taylor said the employee wanted to know if the invoice was for work down this year or in 1999 a person went to get an explanation from that department taylor said the explanation was not forthcoming so they started an investigation i researched all the schools and the institute was clearly the best jamie flinn graduate i had been successful in 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