Pubic outdoor city-ran areas will now be smoke free after City Council passed their Smoking Bylaw on its third reading. Deputy Mayor Vicky Lafabvre explains, “there’s no smoking at our (the city’s) outdoor parks and playgrounds and recreation areas.” Lafabvre further explains that includes city-ran, “fields, like softball and baseball as well as, soccer.”
The new bylaw prohibits smoking in parks, playgrounds, sports fields, municipal reserves or any other recreational open space owned or managed by the City, including within five metres of public buildings. It also prohibits smoking within five metres of the boundaries of the outdoor locations and defines electronic cigarettes as falling within the prohibition.
The bylaw allows for fines ranging from $250 up to $2,500 for repeat offenders.
Lafabvre says the bylaw, which went into effect April 14th, is “mainly for the kids”. Noting that the bylaw is designed help protect children from secondhand smoke and exposure to smoking.