Greater Victoria parks, playgrounds, playing fields and designated public spaces — including bus stops — will all soon be no-smoking zones.
Capital Regional District directors have endorsed amendments to its Clean Air Bylaw that will ban smoking in:
• All public playgrounds and public playing fields.
• Designated public spaces in municipalities.
• All areas of regional parks, electoral area community parks and all municipal parks.
In addition, the buffer zone for smoking near doorways, open windows and air intakes will be increased to seven metres from three metres.
And even though smoking is not permitted under provincial legislation, bylaw amendments will specifically include bus stops as no smoking areas.
Smoking will still be permitted on foreshore beaches.
Changes to the bylaw have to be drafted and then approved by the board meaning it could be the new year before they are officially in effect.
CRD directors heard from more than a half a dozen delegates, many representing youth organizations and schools, urging that they expand the bylaw.
Ultimately only two directors, Victoria Coun. Geoff Young and Metchosin Mayor John Ranns, voted against, arguing a smoking ban in remote areas of regional parks was neither necessary to protect public health nor enforceable.
Victoria Coun. Ben Isitt argued against the changes but voted in favour.
“This bylaw provides a mechanism to ban smoking in our playgrounds and I have a seven year old daughter. I’m going to support it in the understanding that we’re inviting wide-spread civil disobedience in our remote areas and I may be proposing amendments when we see a bylaw in front of us,” Isitt said.
Except for the provision that would continue to allow smoking on ocean front beaches, the recommendations are almost identical to those narrowly defeated by the CRD board in May.
Then, several CRD directors worried that the proposed ban would be too wide-ranging and impossible to enforce, especially in remote areas. They sent staff back to take another look at proposed changes.
Staff recommendations to the CRD’s planning, transportation and protective services committee would have continued to have allowed smoking in more remote areas of regional parks. But in a last minute amendment committee members decided to exempt only foreshore beaches from the ban.
Wednesday, the majority of CRD directors agreed.
Chief Medical Health Officer Dr. Richard Stanwick said he was pleased the board adopted the changes and that the call for the expansion of no smoking areas is coming from youth.
“It’s one of those issues that we have to move forward on,” Stanwick said
“They [younger people] got a taste of clean air and they’ve said we want more and not more just for ourselves, but obviously, for future generations,” he said.
He also supported including bus stops in the bylaw.
“I think part of it is the opportunity for education. ... It’s just a chance to remind people where one can smoke and where people shouldn’t smoke. Plus if the CRD is going to be including it we may, in fact, have a larger budget for signage and as we know 99 per cent of the time that’s all it takes.”
The CRD led the nation in 1999 when it implemented its Clean Air Bylaw, barring smoking in bars and restaurants. In 2007, it was the first in the province to extend that ban to commercial outdoor patios.
Several jurisdictions in B.C., including Duncan, Nanaimo, Tofino, Powell River and Greater Vancouver, already ban smoking in parks and have extended that ban to include beaches as well.
