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it i if 6 economist suntribune thursday april 5 2001- s stbuffvffleffibme a metfoland community newspaper 9 heritage rcl markham ont l3p 1m3 publisher ian proudfooi j general manager alvin brbuwer editor in chief brenda larson director of advertising debra weller deputy editor debora kelly editor jim mason production manager pam nichols distribution director barry goodyear online publishing manager margaret fleming classified manager ann campbell retail sales manager stephen mathieu inside sales manager stacy allen business manager robert lazurko office manager vivian oneil s editorial arguments against york regions smoking bylaw are no longer valid noone should have to inhale cancer-caus- ing carcinogens while enjoying a meal no one should have to endure the stench of secondhand smoke while sharing a glass of wine with friends and no one should have to ask a smoker to put out a cigarette to protect a child from its effects- recreational facilities stores shopping malls theatres food courts and restaurants must complyjwith yorkregions no smoking bylaw by june 1 i even then proprietors can build enclosed separately ventilated sriioking rooms taking up no more than 25 per cent of their floor space but several restaurant owners complained this week at the first in a series of meetings oh york regions smoke ban bylaw that theyll lose business if forced to ban smoking customers from their establishments after allthey say the bylaw still doesnt pro- tect waiters from being subjected to second- hand smoke now more concentrated when serving customers who light up wthe 25pfercent clause is an unfairadvan- tagejtq owners of bigger bare and restaurant chains they claim who can vvell afford to ven tilate a portion of trieir businesses making it s unlevel playing field 11 arid while these joints are all well taken the argmientsarevtifed studies have shown ysrnokersareiritkewstmihority today and that business will eventually bounce back after j customers adjust tqthe change one nevarket business owner argued the baw wont helppeople quit smoking anyway arid that entrepreneurs in many cases have sui their life savingsintp businesses that are bemgfinancially squeezed by the region but the good of free enterprise is not why rtheregiqri- is banning smokihgfrdm its 5000 fqodpremises arid 21000 workplaces the regions first priority is to protect all residents from a potentially fatal health hazard filhe regions public health department which has committed 382000 this year will riinamassivejworlcer andpubliceducatiofr blitz and wiu make the implementation of its rio smoking bylaw one of its top priorities as it should be- letters to the editor compromise can solve standoff over offleash dogs in parks i am one of the dozens of dog owners who walk at milne park in markham my dog is vaccinated and licensed we represent a crosssection of markham residents parents business owners office workers teachers and retirees from october to april we are often the only people who use the parlc we are hot a marauding pack of unlawful vigilantes- swarming through the area with our aggressive fighting biting dogs in fact we are the responsible owners our dogs are vaccinated mainly licensed and riiany have obedience training we are not people who like animals more than peo ple or who ruin the day for skiers and chil dren we are trying to prevent behaviour prob lems in our animals by taking them to the park they get a chance to interact with peo pledogs and get some strenuous exercise by running and playing gairies with their bud dies v- often dogs who are troublesome do not havemiseerienceortrairimg the vast majority of the nondoggers we meet are quite happy to greet and pet the dogs those whoare outraged are often fearful ofany dog they do riot like any animals or their own dog isntrusrworthy off the leash we respect these reasons but why should their needs be any more valid than ours our companion animals add immeasur ably to our quality of life can we not have some reasonable use of the park after much research toronto has created at least 21 offleash areas we are pleased that our council is reassessing markhams bylaws if there were rules in place those who do not like dogs would also know which hours to use die park most of us regard a few leashfree hours in the morning and evening when the park is usually quiet as one equitable solution we look forward to an impartial moderate updating of our guidelines which can give everyone a just piece of the pie for which we also pay into marguerite hinderle markham join our online discussions atyorkregioncom your opinion is important to us on our let ters to the editor pages and on our web site we invite you to join the ongoing discus sions at yorkregioncom and youre welcome to launch your own discussion there too the site serves readers of the york region newspaper group which includes the economist suni stouffville tribune richmond hillthornhillyauglian liberal newmarketaurora erabanner georgina advocate and stouffville sun- letterspolicy vvelcommybjvienmauivjl v submissions must be lessthan 400 words and must tadudev iydaytime telephone number 1sfliunli ka serving the community sincel888if- audit board matbeuci pmfito press council ww y stouffville tnbuie published every thursday and saturday is one of the metraland printing publishing and 1 distributing ltd group of newspapers which indudesthe ajavpickering news advertiser alliston heraldcourier banle advance barrys bay this week bolton enterprise brampton guardian burlington shopping news burlington jposvcrty parenvcoilirigwoodwasaga connection east york minrorerin advocatecountry routes etoblcoke luardian flamborough post georgetown indepehdentacton free press kingston this week lindsay this week midlandpenetangtiishene mirror milton canadianchamplon miltonshopping news mississauga news newmarket- aurora georgina era bannernorthumberland newsnorth york mirror oakvflle beaver oakville shopping news orilfla today oshawawhitbyclarfngtonport perry this week peterborough this week richmond hillthomhlllvaughan lberal scarborough mirror stouffville tribune todays seniors ifxbridge tribune and city of yxk guardian phone k5 2942200 classified distribution 1538 18007433353 ffifwsitft telephone r 905 2942200 416 7987624 fax 905 2941538 email newsroomeconsuncom daveteetzel where do you draw the line on smoking laws the demon smoke is finally on the run in york region all workplaces are now tobaccofree and smokers face a 5000 fine for lighting up on the job as the region launches a public edu cation campaign about the bylaw its preparing to introduce the second phase a ban on unenclosed smoking areas in restaurants theatres bowling alleys stores and malls this is being met with anger by the business community in many parts of york region but not in vaughan where a similar bylaw has been in effect since 1996 vaughan business owners are glad their competitors in neighbouring municipalities will have to abide by the same rules in june 2004 the regional smoke ban will apply to bars bingo halls billiard halls and casinos at long last the anti- tobacco lobby should be perfectly con tent in york region except for daniel applebaum he thinks the law should go further and is plotting a private legal fight with the help of three law students to push die smoking ban outdoors people smoke in the front entrance- way of his condominium not in the lobby because smoking is prohibited in all common areas of the building applebaum who has asthma says tobacco smoke collects in the entrance he says running the gaundet of tobacco smoke causes him serious health prob lems and believes his condominium should put a stop to it his condo board says it has eliminat ed secondhand smoke indoors and applebaums case is frivolous at least one ontario municipality peterborough passed a bylaw prohibit- ing smoking outdoors but the city lost a 1998 challenge by two people who were charged with smoking within 30 feet of a hospital another possible precedent might be torontos skydome where smoking is banned whether the roof is open or closed so should york region extend its bylaw to stop smoking outside the doors of buildings at outdoor sporting events or in playgrounds im ho fan of having cigarette smoke blow past my face as i enter the office but im not sure id be in favour of chas- ing smokers away with a new set of rules then again i wasnt so sure business- es should be compelled by law toorder customers to butt out there are those who would make it illegal to smoke in your car if theres a child riding with yout in which case why not prohibit smoking if you have chil dreh in your home or if youre pregnant v the question is where you draw the j iinef- and youll never get full agree- ment on that issue m i