Inuvik (Mar 07/03) - Council gave first reading of the town's proposed smoking bylaw at last Wednesday's council meeting.

Before voting on the new bylaw, council discussed some finer points such as how the law will be enforced and other restrictions.

Mayor Peter Clarkson noted that other jurisdictions have imposed restrictions against smoking in front of building entrances and used the rec centre during the recent hockey tournament as an example.

Council also discussed if the law should be enforced through individual fines for smokers or just fining the business owner.

Coun. George Doolittle said the onus should be placed on the business to police the law.

The initial fines considered are $100 for an individual and $250 for business infractions.

Marty Verbonac, operations manager for the Mackenzie Delta Hotel Group, said they see the law as inevitable and feel it will cost business.

He would like to see the law modelled after the Alberta law which has two classes of restaurants.

"If you're going to have smoking in the restaurant, no one under 18 is allowed,' he said. "Other restaurants where smoking is not allowed are called family restaurants."

The hotel group leases out their restaurants. Gerhard Erler and Greg Sim are both non-smokers who run the Peppermill Restaurant in the Finto Motor Inn.

They are opposed to being forced to comply to a law they say will certainly cost them business, as they've tried going non-smoking before.

"We tried to go non-smoking in 2000," Erler said. "We opened up in May and by the end of August we were smoking again, because we had absolutely no business."

"We had big tables reserving and then an hour before, they would call and say they weren't coming because they had a couple smokers who wanted to go somewhere else," he said.

With the municipal bylaw, the rules would be the same for everyone. That will level the playing field, but Erler says they will still suffer a loss of business.

"If it's being forced on us, it's most certainly going to cost jobs," Erler said.

"At the beginning, we'll have a drop in business, just because people are adjusting, but we can't keep the staff just waiting there if there's no one to serve."

As for exposing their employees to secondhand smoke, Sim said that's the choice of the employees.

"They choose where they want to work," Sim said. "Ambulance drivers put themselves in a precarious situation knowing that in their job they may have to drive at excessive speeds."

Sim said Inuvik has a higher percentage of smokers than most jurisdictions and special considerations should be made here. He finds the law an infringement on the freedoms of the customer and business owner.

"It's still a choice of the customers whether they want to frequent a place -- we're not forcing them to come into a smoking environment," Sim said. "By drafting a non-smoking bylaw, you are now forcing us -- the owners, in our private enterprise -- to do something that will not necessarily be in our best interest."

As for policing the bylaw, Sim said they will comply to the same degree as their competitors.

"We'll police it to the same level as all the other restaurant owners do," he said.

The bylaw will not face second reading until council receives input from a meeting to be held March 20 at the recreation centre.