The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Accusing the provincial government of being "fascist," a small-town bar owner is leading a legal challenge against Manitoba's public smoking ban. Robert Jenkinson, owner of a motel in the tiny southern town of Treherne, is scheduled to appear in court Nov. 29 to answer to charges stemming from his open defiance of the ban. "I hope the courts can make amends for what this fascist NDP government has done," Jenkinson told the Winnipeg Free Press. "This is all about freedom of choice." Businesses that violate the Non-Smokers Health Protection Act, which took effect Oct. 1, can be fined up to $3,000, while individuals can pay as much as $500. Jenkinson is the first person to be charged with violating the act, but an estimated two dozen rural establishments are defying the law. Meanwhile, Jenkinson and other rural bar owners plan to gather in the small farming community of Brunkild tomorrow night to discuss what steps they may take to fight the ban. The bar owners all share the same concern ? that the ban will either take a significant bite out of their business or will drive them under altogether. The Saskatchewan government will implement its smoking ban on Jan. 1, 2005.
