Tara Kearsey
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Nov 20/02) - The owner of The Diner fears her business will have to close if the city bans smoking in all restaurants and dining rooms.

"Lots of restaurants are going to close," said Lynn Huang.

Tobacco Action Yellowknife wants the city to move up its schedule for a 100 per cent ban on smoking in restaurants before Jan. 1, 2005. Council has rejected a request to bump up the ban to this Jan. 1.

Huang has been running The Diner with her husband Hoa Ngo since last December. Under current bylaws all restaurants are limited to providing 25 per cent of their seats to smokers.

Huang said many of her customers smoke and fears her non-smoking customers alone will not provide enough business to keep the restaurant doors open.

"I'm wondering (what) percentage of non-smoking customers I can get.

"I'm putting everything on the restaurant. I don't want to lose it," she said.

Huang said bylaw enforcers have visited The Diner four times since she began operating the restaurant last December.

Doug Gillard, manager of municipal enforcement, said bylaw officers visit restaurants and dining establishments upon request of city council.

"We've been doing it as the smoking bylaw is coming through its stages, from 50 per cent now down to 25 per cent smoking and coming up it will be 100 per cent (non-smoking).

"So every time that comes up we've tried to go to all the different businesses to make sure they are in compliance," he said.

Bylaw officers just visited all establishments in September, upon council's request.

"Otherwise we don't do it unless we receive a complaint from somebody saying that they are not complying or if we happen to be in there for some other reason," said Gillard.

Huang said if the city is going to ban smoking in restaurants, it should also ban smoking in all bars and pubs as well.