No smoking within nine metres of all municipal buildings in effect Feb. 15, 2010

As of February 15, 2010, by-law No 24-09 will be enacted requiring all Regional and Local Municipal buildings to be smoke-free within nine metres of all entrances/exits.

“Protecting the health of Halton Residents is a top priority,” stated Gary Carr, Halton Region Chair. “We have thousands of people using regional and local municipal services such as libraries, arenas, rec centres and administrative buildings everyday across Halton so it’s important to keep these areas smoke-free.”

It is estimated that over 1000 people die from second hand smoke each year in Canada.

“Second hand smoke has over 4000 chemicals and over 50 are known or suspected to cause cancer,” said Dr. Bob Nosal, Halton Region Medical Officer of Health. “Those who make the healthy choice to be smoke-free should not be involuntarily exposed to tobacco smoke.”

By-law No 24-09 is a region-wide by-law that prohibits smoking within nine metres from any entrance or exit of buildings owned or leased by the Regional Municipality of Halton or its Local Municipalities. The by-law will come into effect on February 15, 2010.

During the first three months following the enactment of the by-law, a phased in enforcement approach to achieve compliance will be used by enforcement staff. The first phase will involve educating violators and promoting awareness of the by-law. Following the initial three-month period, enforcement staff will use their discretionary powers and progressive enforcement to achieve compliance. After the first three-months, individuals in non-compliance of the by-law could be issued Provincial Offence Summons to appear in court.

For more information, dial 311 or call Halton Region at 905-825-6000, toll free 1-866-442-5866, TTY 905-827-9833 or visit www.halton.ca.

Support Our Sponsors