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vrbiafiibs yjafflidjlgfi jsfepfc30b99fr2 3 sj r p w y r news focus business community wsmedafhgwnalplan to eliminate smoking in public f jh tuhht i on the record were not out to destroy businesses all were asking is for people to look at their business and see if they can identify if nonsmoking is more in demand ralph aselin markham councillor its a matter of freedom of choice businesses should be able to choose whether to allow smoking nonsmoking or a combination of both ruth burkholder president markham board of trade we are aware of the economic concerns and we will make every effort to ensure whatever bylaw we decide on will create a level playing field for all municipalities joyce frustaguo regional nosmoking committee chairperson ban may butt out business by dawn liersch staff writer ome york business owners are demanding to be com pensated for money lost if theres a regionwide smoking ban in the works corey shoebridge owner of lookers strip club in newmarket wants to be reim bursed the 50000 he spent on a special ventilation system to clear the building of smoke you spend so much money just to go into business and then you spend even more to keep the envi ronment safe they never talk about how much money youve already spent he said i spent all this money to enter tain both smokers and nonsmok ers its a real letdown to think we have to spend all this money to accommodate both and then they try to ban smoking the regions nosmoking com mittee has an ambitious plan to ban smoking in all public places by jan 1 2002 but shoebridge said the ban threatens to bankrupt businesses where the majority of customers smoke and argues the committee hasnt considered measures already taken by business owners to appease both smoking and non smoking customers shoebridge said his 9000- squarefoot building would only need a 15tonne heating and air conditioning system with a price tag of about 15000 however he spent more than three times that amount to install three 20tonne units specially designed to change the air every 20 minutes the system rids the building of smoky air and replaces it with fresh air from outside he said according to industry standards of 12 people per tonne the units will keep the air fresh for 720 peo ple lookers only has seating for 450 people about 75 per cent of shoebridges customers smoke anyway he said its such overkill its ridiculous but according to the committee its still not good enough he said government allow people to sell cigarettes and alcohol so that they can get the tax money and then they decide where you can smoke and drink however cathy jaynes the regions family and community health programmer argues the ventilation systems arent doing the job no ventilation system in the world can actually clean the air just having a fan in a restaurant with smoking isnt enough she said jaynes said the committee may consider allowing businesses to permit smoking in a designated area that is separately enclosed and vented to the outside but she pointed out that still doesnt pro tect the health of staff working in smoking sections whats the bottom line do you just want to protect those who dont want to smoke or do you want to protect everybody she said vaughan councillor joyce frustaglio who chairs both the no- smoking committee and the regions health and social services committee said shes not opposed to businesses being smoking only but points out options are only at the discussion stage they may have the choice of installing a selfcontained ventila tion system or maybe they can be a totally smoketfree bar the com mittee will have to decide she said frustaglio added shes aware of the business communitys con cerns but maintains the commit tee has to consider the health of all residents as regional councillors we dont want to be penalized for being proactive on a health issue were very fortunate to have a regional council concerned about the health and welfare of its resi dents she said we are aware of the economic concerns and we will make every effort to ensure whatever bylaw we decide on will create a level playing field for all municipalities frustaglio cited the success of vaughans nosmoking ban despite some initial concerns from business owners frustaglio said the city has been applauded for implementing the ban the bylaw just by its existence is starting to educate the public she said mario gasbarro owner of woodbridge bowl disagrees he said he lost close to 80000 a year since vaughan implemented a smoking ban in case for the courts us attorney general gets hero status in york by lisa queen staff writer us attorney general janet reno is the new hero of the head of york regions nonsmoking com mittee vaughan councillor joyce frustaguo was thrilled to learn last week that reno is suing tobacco companies for years of failing to properly warn the public about the deadly effects of cigarettes and secondhand smoke i think thaf s a big coup for the nation as a whole said frustaglio whose committee is hoping to ban smoking in all public places across york region by jan 1 2002 ifs something that will be discussed by our committee although frustaglio is hesitant about suggesting her committee will launch a similar lawsuit she wont rule it out either were certainly not going to take it upon ourselves to sue the tobacco companies i think that is something that will take a bigger body than us she said yesterday frustaglio plans to discuss the lawsuit with her committee its certainly an interesting aspect to consider she said im going to be tabling that reno speech at the next committee meeting frustaglio suggested the com mittee might have more success banding together with other regions to pressure the federal and provincial governments to ban the sale of tobacco products and pro hibit smoking in public places but she argued the lobbying efforts wont have much effect if the regions havent made strides in eliminating smoking meanwhile the committee which has been accused of meet ing behind closed doors without input from residents and busi nesses was given legitimacy last week when regional council gave it task force status the existing membership which doesnt include business representatives was approved by council although it may be reviewed by the task force markham councillor ralph aselin a committee member who criticized the groups secrecy is pleased the public will now be notified of future meetings it has been a committee that has not been recognized by coun cil and if it has been its been a big secret markbams destination i qifisfiop annual birthday sale savings throughout the store door prizes free gift with purchase min 2000 106 main st oj maram vittafli 4717820 sale ends oct 3rd 8b8 rcadcrii choice award 1998 1996 because many customers chose to go elsewhere plus they dont drink anymore when they dont smoke gasbarro said he too had a ventilation sys tem in place but later had to redesign the building to create a smoking room vaughans policy allowed up to 25 per cent of the bowling alley to have smoking in a separately enclosed room vented to the outside with restaurants its different they can just divide the area in two but i couldnt do that here or else i lose 25 per cent of my bowling space he said bob doyle manager of markham bowl said hes con cerned about losing business if smoking is banned we already dont allow smok ing in the lanes and people are already upset bowling and smok ing go hand in hand he said ruth burkholder president and chief executive officer of the markham board of trade said many members are concerned about the money theyve already spent on ventilation systems and about future loss of business if smoking is banned some argue without a provincewide ban theyll only lose customers to busi nesses in nearby towns that allow smoking the board represents business es in markham richmond hill whitchurchstouffville georgina and east gwillimbury chambers of commerce in aurora and newmarket have yet to take a stand on the proposed smoking ban its a matter of freedom of choice businesses should be able to choose whether to allow smok ing nonsmoking or a combina tion of both burkholder said but markham councillor ralph aselin stressed the committees goals may have been misinterpret ed i think it has gotten in the papers that there is going to be a total smoking ban in a number of years and maybe thats not realis tic its something the committee will have to talk about he said were not out to destroy busi nesses i see us working in con junction with businesses i all were asking is for people to look at their business and see if they can identify if nonsmoking is more in demand without being dictatorial we have to identify that maybe there is a need for a larger non smoking area people are looking for direction and politicians have to be respon sible 10000 tulips for main street markham surrounding areas 500 for a bag of ten buy them at the markham fair heritage preservation society booth proceeds to the parkinson foundation bw