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economist suntribune regional news saturday june i 2002 staff photorob alary former alcoholic and prescription drugaddict don slessor has been sober for 12 years he now operates solutions counselling consultants as a certified alcohol and drug counsellor agency helps drunk drivers et back behind wheel sober by lisa queen staff writer as the province continues to escalate its crackdown on drunk drivers a newmarket counselling service says it can offer a way for drivers who have lost their licences to get back on track but not without admitting they have a problem and undergoing an extensive counselling course don slessor is a former alco holic and prescription drugaddict who now operates solutions counselling consultants as a certi fied alcohol and drug counsellor on june 11 he will have been sober 12 years the centre offers individual counselling employee assistance programs group sessions work shops and lifeskills programs one of the largest growing com ponents of the business is operat ing courses for clients whose doc tors have reported them to the ministry of transportation because they continue to abuse alcohol and drugs while holding a drivers licence its becoming an explosive issue said mr slessor who added those drivers must complete an approved course such as his and prove through blood tests they havent touched a drink for a year its because of societal pres sures we dont want these people on the road i support this 100 per cent its about borders of responsi bility i support 100 per cent keep ing our roads safe its your privi lege to drive not your right dr ed yielding the medical director of renascent treatment centres in toronto and solutions counseuings addictions consultant and medical advisor said the college of physicians and surgeons is pushing doctors to report patients with addiction problems who hold drivers licences he supports the initiative argu ing losing their licence is often the only wakeup call to which prob lem drinkers will respond its your privilege to drive not your right i think the ministry of transportation has taken a hard- nosed stand but i think its appropri ate he said look at the number of deaths on our highways a high per centage have to do with alcohol i believe a lot of people are still ignor ing the rules of drinking driving of the 20896 motor vehicle colli sions in ontario that resulted in charges under the criminal code of canada in 1999 17089 were alcohol related of the 1374 fatal accidents in the province that same year 173 involved the driver drinking ministry spokesperson bob nichols said getting drunk drivers off the roads is an ongoing priority for the province i would say its not a renewed effort its continual he said adding drivers can also lose their licences if they are charged by police for blowing over the legal limit or for impaired driving we have some of the toughest drunk driving legislation on the continent here and we have for some time we do all we can to combat this problem for example in the 13 months that ontarios administrative drivers licence suspension pro gram has been in effect there has been a 17percent drop in the number of fatally injured drivers with bloodalcohol levels over the legal limit the program requires anyone charged with driving with a blood alcohol level over 80 mg or refusing to give a breath sample immediately loses their licence for 90 days the back on track program ini tiated in 1998 requires drivers to complete an assessment undergo an education or treatment pro gram and participate in a interview six months later before their licence is reinstated early next year mr nichols said the province will set lip a program that requires drivers with a reinstat ed licence to have an appliance installed in their ignition they will have to blow into the equipment each time they get into the vehicle to prove they havent been drinking before the car will start as important as it is for society to get drunk drivers off the road mr slessor said it is just as impor tant to offer counselling to those ready to turn their lives around for more information about solutions counselling consultants call 19058300404 honeymoon over for bylaw violators region vows to get tough on businesses that buck nosmoking law by jeff mitchell staff writer yesterday marked the first anniversary of the implementation of phase two of york regions tough antismoking bylaw legislation that has generated anger and debate since its passage the grace period for restaura teurs tavern keepers and other pro prietors whove avoided prosecu tion under the law is over accord ing to yorks regional health depart ment while bylaw enforcement offi cers have been lenient in levying fines the honeymoon is over said department spokesperson kim clark this first year weve really tried to make it an educational process ms clark said that means inspectors have been handing out notices for infractions such as improper sig nage and failure to prevent smoking in nonsmoking areas rather than tickets sometimes theyll inspectors go back two and three times really trying to work with the proprietor ms clark said but now that the grace period is over fines will start coming with more frequency as of june 1 were not doing that handing out notices of infrac tions rather tiian tickets anymore ms clark said thats not to say there havent been tickets issued bylaw officers have been busy writing up bar and restaurant owners for infractions of the law numerous court dates have occurred or been set some business establishments are openly flouting the law which they say has carved away 20 per cent of their business or more the section of the bylaw imple mented a year ago makes it illegal to smoke in restaurants and restricts smoking to 25 per cent of the occu- piable floor space in bars bowling alleys pool halls and other places where the public convenes in two years smoking will be illegal outside of selfcontained ventilated designated smoking rooms the bylaw has been assailed constantly by business people but they have met with a steely resolve by regional councillors not to sway from the letter of the law with one notable exception earlier this month markham representatives managed after months of debate to push through an amendment allowing smoking in 50 per cent of the occupiable space in bingo halls the same space allowed in peel region and the city oftoronto markham took up the fight on behalf of local charities which raise funds through bingos they com plained bingo players an over whelming majority of whom smoke were simply going to other jurisdictions where smoking rules are not as stringent and taking their money with them the amendment angered vaughan regional councillor joyce frustaglio chairperson of the regional health committee and a fierce antismoking crusader shes warning other parties not expect more revisions to the law the no smoking bylaw is first and foremost a public health meas ure to protect our residents from the harmful effects of secondhand tobacco smoke ms frustaglio said public on side the debate has recently strayed from its original purpose into dis cussions about rights and econom ics we will continue to listen atten tively to these discussions but we must now refocus our efforts on the health issue of second hand smoke the region claims to have the public on its side recent environics poll results released by the municipality show 82 per cent of respondents are in favour of smokefree restaurants while 72 per cent favour of smokefree bars the resolve to the fight the law remains strong particularly among bar and restaurant owners who claim their sector has been pro foundly affected they hope to mount a constitutional challenge to the bylaw questioning the right of municipalities to pass laws govern ing smoking at all they could find a powerful ally in the pub and bar coalition of ontario pubco which has already launched unsuc cessful challenges of ottawas total ban on public smoking if this constitutional challenge is what the membership wants thats the way well go said barry mckay a spokesperson for the group but we have to be pretty convinced about the possibility of winning mr mckay said hed be content with a provincewide set of regula tions that impose identical rules everywhere creating the level playing field proprietors seek chapel ridge 89 1 1 woodbine avenue markham ontario l3r sgi 3 blocks north ofhw 7 905 3058508 email infochapelridgeflicom wwwchapelridgeflicom toll free 18778898808 a caring part of our community