Peninsula News Review

February 23, 2000
Vancouver Island, B.C.

FREEDOM FIGHTERS

Soldiers in the war over second-hand smoke

Part two: The Clean Indoor Air Bylaw and changes to WCB health and safety regulations were designed to protect people from the dangers of second-hand smoke - but what do people think? -second in a three-part special report by Lee Shanks.

In place since Jan. 1, the new Workers' Compensation Board regulation designed to protect work-place employees from second-hand smoke is drawing heavy fire from smokers and non-smokers alike.

And the hospitality industry is lobbing some missiles of their own - all in an effort to force WCB to compromise and allow for separate, ventilated smoking areas inside their establishments.

Walk into almost any bar, pub or restaurant on the Peninsula and you'll likely have to skirt around a small group of smokers hunched over in the cold and holing onto a lit cigarette like it was a lifeline. Young, old, male and female - if they're looking to light up, they go outside. And those are the ones who continue to frequent these establishments.

Industry officials claim there are already enough casualties in this war - nearly 600 layoffs in the hospitality industry and four establishments forced to close down.

What seems to be at issue with the owners of the pubs, nightclubs and restaurants - and their patrons - is the freedom of choice they say they've been stripped of. Even non-smokers see the regulation as an invasion into their private lives.
"The thing I have a problem with is them [the government and WCB] telling us what to do and not do," said Central Saanich resident Terry Martins. Martins, 35, told The Review he is not, and never has been, a smoker. But he sympathizes with those who are because he believes the government has no right to tell anyone - particularity those of legal age - under what conditions they can partake in legal activities.
"I can understand that regulation being in effect in restaurants. Kids go into restaurants and so their freedom of choice (inhaling second-hand smoke) is made for them. But I don't believe that rule should be applied to bars and pubs. These are adult establishments and as an adult, you know what you're getting into," he said.

Bill Lumley, also a non-smoker, agrees that it is the principal of the regulation that bothers him.
"I've never smoked either, but a lot of my friends do. If I go and choose to sit with them in a smoking section, then it's a conscious choice - and that's what this whole issue comes down to," he said.
His brother, Doug Lumley, is a smoker. While he says he fully respects the rights of the non-smoker, banning smoking from bars and pubs is "ludicrous." I don't force my habit on anyone else - I don't even smoke in my truck if my dog is in there - but this regulation is ludicrous," he said.
What burns him up the worst, though, is the way the regulation has impacted places like the Legion and the Army,Navy and Air Force Veterans' clubs. "These veterans fought and died for freedom. Now that freedom is slowly being stripped away," he said. Some of them have been smokers all their lives - the government gave them cigarettes as a reward for going into battle - and now they're being told that they can't live out the rest of their days in peace and enjoyment in the way they choose? That really ticks me off," he said.

Martins feels, as many do, that pub, bar and nightclub owners should have been given the right to choose whether they wanted to go smoke free or not. That way, patrons and employees could choose which businesses they preferred to patronize. "Instead of taking away our freedom of choice, it would have allowed us the freedom to exercise it," he said.

His thoughts are echoed throughout the hospitality industry. Jim Rennie, sitting with friends at The Prairie Inn in Central Saanich, said he thinks pubs let themselves down by not installing ventilation systems before the Capital Regional District's Clean Indoor Air bylaw and the WCB second-hand smoke regulations came into effect.

[NOTE: All ventilation systems installed prior to the bans have been disallowed by the WCB since their ban came into effect. No standards have been set since the bans; the WCB says there is no system capable of handling secondhand smoke and arbitrary 'zero tolerance' has been set. So the owners would not have gained anything by installing ventilation, and the ones who did have spent money for nothing. The same holds true for the owners who built separate smoking rooms - all for naught now. ]

But, he said, that's still no excuse for them to be "heavy-handed." "I think business owners should have a choice whether to offer smoking or non-smoking to their patrons. Let the market decide, but keep the WCB out of it." he said. Although the CRD and WCB have often pointed to California as an example of successful compliance with similar regulations, Rennie said that's not really the case in his eyes. "To kill a quote from Churchill, it's all "lies, damn lies and statistics to back it up," he said. "(In California) they're either ignoring the rules and letting customers smoke, or screaming bloody murder about the money they're losing by upholding the rules," said Rennie.

Other sitting around Rennie's table can't help but overhear the conversation, and a few toss in comments of their own.
"Bloody communists. Ought to take the CRD, WCB and NDP, put them all on Fast Cats [our infamous new fast ferry fleet] and send them out to sea," said one elderly gentleman, much to the delight of his counterparts around him.
Other, including Rennie, voice their frustration over the idea of a snitch line, established by WCB so that individuals acting anonymously can report non-complying establishments. "If I can sit here and bitch and put my name behind what I'm saying, so can they," Rennie said. "To hide behind a snitch line is, in my view, absolutely abhorrent."
Rennie points out that the line is too easy for a business in competition with another establishment to misuse. "They (WCB) says they've received hundreds of calls since the line went in, but how many of those calls were made by one individual. It's just wrong." he said.

Nancy Hanak, manager of the Prairie Inn, said she's had to cut back staff at least by 10 per cent since the WCB regulation came into effect. "Compared to last year, I'm definitely down in business revenue." she said. Still, it's he customers she feels sorry for. "The government already taxes them so that everything they earn from January to July goes to them (the government). Now, when they're not working, they're being told what to do as well," she said. "It's too much."

Bill Singer, who has been running the Rumrunner Pub in Sidney for 10 years, said he finds it "completely objectionable" that WCB is interfering without being willing to explore the alternatives. "I do agree there's a problem, but there has to be another way to deal with it. They're not open to listening, and that's what I object to," he said. "I would love for WCB and the government to stop interfering with my life, and my business. It has had a negative impact and it's been tough to deal with." he said.

According to Rick Boyd, President of the BC and Yukon Hotel Association and the Coalition of Hospitality Organizations, there have been nearly 600 jobs lost since Jan. 1 as a direct result of the WCB regulation. The coalition has written to Eric van Soeren, BC's Job Protection Commissioner, requesting that he mediate a "solution-based discussion" between the provincial government, WCB and the hospitality industry. That discussion would center around a compromise of separate, ventilated smoking rooms in pubs and restaurants. "We are hopeful that the commissioner will hear us out. A compromise has to be reached," Boyd told The Review. Boyd said that, over and above the jobs lost, a further four businesses have had to close their doors due to lack of revenue.

While WCB claims that liquor sales are going up - indicating that the regulations are attracting new patrons - Boyd said that's "hogwash." "The sales of draught beer are down 15 per cent. Sales on the table are down 12 per cent. All WCB has done is introduce smoking back into the home and into families more than ever before," he said. "We're not out to kill anybody," he continued. "We just want the government to sit down and listen to customers demands. We are hopeful we will be heard and a compromise will be reached."

Will it work? Only time will tell, said Boyd.