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.
The Manitoba government is reviewing whether the upcoming smoking ban will apply to miners underground at HBMS. The ban is to take effect Oct. 1 at all indoor public locations and workplaces, but the province has yet to determine whether that includes Flin Flon's underground mines. "There's no final decision on that because of the unique nature of the workplace," said Peter Dalla-Vicenza, spokesman for Minister of Healthy Living Jim Rondeau. "Our legislation is to cover all indoor workplaces. That being said, mining is a unique situation and so we're looking at that right now." It's been rumoured that HBMS would not have to abide by the ban because it is generally regulated at the federal level; however, Dalla-Vicenza said he believes the company would fall under provincial jurisdiction in this case. Support A phone survey conducted by The Reminder in March suggested that Flin Flonners, by a 2-1 margin, support a smoking ban for the community at large. Of 41 residents phoned at random, 24 (58.5 per cent) support the expected ban on smoking in all indoor public places and work places starting October 1. Twelve respondents (29.3 per cent) oppose the law, which would make Manitoba the first province in Canada to ban smoking in all public places. Of the remaining five respondents, four (9.8 per cent) said it didn't matter to them one way or the other, and one (2.4 per cent) was undecided. Here is a sampling of the comments obtained from the survey: "I don't think it should be banned in bars because people are drinking. You know how that goes. If you're going to have a drink, you're going to have a smoke." "I am a smoker and I've been struggling with it for a long time. The only thing I wish the government would do is take them off the market." See 'Survey' P.# Con't from P.# "I think everybody has the right to breathe fresh air. I just don't think people should have to be around all the smoke." "I can't stand smoke anywhere. I think it should be banned everywhere." "What's next then? It's cigarettes today, maybe it's booze tomorrow. We're supposed to be a free country here. How come we can't vote on this issue? I know we vote these people in, but shouldn't we have a say?" "Everywhere else is non-smoking, so why not?" "They're getting carried away with the laws."
