When Ottawa’s expanded anti-smoking bylaws come into effect in early July, a bureaucratic loophole may make finding a place to smoke even more confusing.
City council voted to change Ottawa’s existing smoke-free regulations at a meeting on Feb. 22. The new rules prohibit smoking on all municipal properties, including parks and beaches, as well as restaurant and bar patios.
However, the new rules don’t include properties under the National Capital Commission’s jurisdiction. As the NCC has no smoking restrictions on its properties, this means that some parks and other recreational areas, such as along the Rideau Canal and the Ottawa River, won’t be covered by the new bylaw.
In Centretown, for example, this means that Confederation Park will be exempt from the new rules, while, a few blocks south, Minto Park will be smoke-free.
“Yeah, I don’t like not knowing where I can smoke up,” complained Jenna Bourbonnais, a young woman who says she spends a lot of time in Confederation Park.
Matt Walker, a visitor from Saskatchewan, agrees that the discrepancy might cause problems.
“It would be bad to see someone get a ticket just because they didn’t know which park they could smoke at,” says Walker.
But others thought the new rules weren’t that confusing at all.
“It seems pretty clear to me,” says Erin Kells, who is a non-smoker. “I’m sure it wouldn’t be that hard to figure out. Just check if it’s an NCC park before you smoke.”
Somerset Ward Coun. Diane Holmes, chair of the Ottawa Health Board, and a prime mover behind the new anti-smoking rules, agrees.
“No, I don’t think it would be all that confusing,” says Holmes.
However, the loophole may not last long, although the NCC seems in no hurry to follow suit. It says it may follow the city’s example only after monitoring the success of the new regulations.
“It’s far too premature to talk about specifics,” says NCC media relations officer Jasmine Leduc. “The NCC has been notified of the city increasing the number of smoke-free areas and is supportive of its public health objectives and will be watching the initiative closely as it progresses towards implementation.”
Leduc says the NCC needs to study many aspects of a potential smoking ban before it decides whether or not to implement a similar strategy.
“We’d have to look at the regulations itself and the legal implications of that. We’d need to look at the types of events where it would apply, how would we enforce it, and other details.”
But some Ottawa events hosted on NCC property, such as Bluesfest on LeBreton Flats, may be subject to a smoking ban sooner than the NCCs parks.
“Well, the NCC is considering a signed agreement between the city to work towards creating a smoke-free environment at some of these festivals,” says Somerset Ward Coun. Diane Holmes, chair of the Ottawa Board of Health.
The NCC says it supports the city’s steps towards a smoke-free environment.
While the NCC itself has no public health mandate, it has worked with the city before on a number of initiatives.
While NCC parks will remain smoke-friendly for the time being, the smoking ban will come into effect on city properties on July 2.