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.
Diane Therien and a group of like-minded residents have put on hold plans to lobby Flin Flon City Council for a public indoor smoking ban. The Committee for Smoke Free Communities is now playing a waiting game to see how they will proceed, as the Manitoba government is expected to legislate a province-wide ban by October. "There's no point in lobbying city council to do something they might be mandated to do very soon anyway," said Therien. "But if they're not obliged to by the province, we will certainly get back on track and encourage council to do it." Therien has no doubt that the province will implement a smoking ban, saying it's just a matter of time. Mayor Dennis Ballard agrees. "I've felt all along that eventually, this was going to come," he said. But Flin Flon is only one community Therien and the rest of the committee hope to see go smoke-free. They also have their sights set on Creighton and Denare Beach. Therien said she hopes the committee will approach Creighton and Denare Beach after the expected Manitoba ban becomes law, but they have not yet discussed the matter. "I would like to see them go smoke free as well if for no other reason than to support the businesses and the people in their sister community, Flin Flon," she said. "I feel we are all one large community and the border shouldn't make a difference." Therien believes Creighton and Denare Beach establishments might benefit if Manitoba goes smoke-free Ñ but not indefinitely. "Perhaps the bar in Creighton might enjoy a little extra business for a short period of time, but in the long run, I think Saskatchewan will also go smoke free sooner or later," she said. To help gauge public sentiment on the smoking issue, the Committee for Smoke Free Communities sent out a survey to all homes in Flin Flon, Creighton, Denare Beach and Cranberry Portage last year. Therien estimates about 15 per cent of people completed the survey and that most of them supported a ban. The exact results will be released in the near future. "We did have some very strong arguments against a smoking ban but the majority of the people who responded were in favour," she said. "I've had even smokers say to me that (a ban) is coming sooner or later so people might as well get used to it." Therien became motivated to help pursue a ban simply because she feels uncomfortable being in public places when smokers light up. "If it's my choice to go in there then it should be my choice that I can have it smoke free if I so choose," she said. A big unknown in the smoking debate is just how Flin Flon, which has a sizable smoking population, would react to a public ban. See 'What's' P.# Con't from P.# Therien said a ban could initially be difficult for both residents and businesses but feels both groups wouldn't take long to get used to it. When asked if a smoking ban might be a tough sell in Flin Flon, Mayor Dennis Ballard said: "If the government comes along and legislates it, what's to sell?" Flin Flon City Council was asked in writing last September to implement a public smoking ban. "We all have the right to breathe clean air, free from harmful and irritating tobacco smoke," wrote a community activist. "This right supersedes the choice to smoke when the two conflict."
