Athabasca town councillor Tim Verhaeghe presumably has the best of intentions in proposing that council pass a bylaw that would outlaw smoking in vehicles when children are present. He’s simply trying to do what he can as a councillor to protect to health of his community’s citizens, particularly the younger ones.
There’s just one problem: protection of public health is not an area of municipal jurisdiction; it’s the responsibility of the provincial and federal governments.
If council is going to wade into the issue by passing the bylaw Verhaeghe proposes, it’s going to have to put the appropriate processes in place to enforce it.
And that’s going to cost money.
For example, councillor Christine Nelson raises a good point: what good will Verhaeghe’s proposed bylaw be if it isn’t enforced? And is it an efficient use of the bylaw officer’s time to have him peering into vehicles, on the lookout for adults smoking in the presence of children?
And, as town CAO Doug Topinka points out, the town would also have to take steps to make the public aware of the bylaw, particularly visitors. Presumably, that means signage at all the town entrances, the cost of which would have to be borne by town taxpayers.
And all that rigmarole for something that isn’t even a municipal issue? As well intentioned as Verhaeghe’s proposed bylaw might be, it hardly seems worth it.
When Athabasca took the lead a few years ago by banning smoking in restaurants and bars, they could at least partially rationalize the move as a municipal issue, since the municipality issues the business licenses. Not so in this instance; while council certainly has the legal authority the adopt the bylaw Verhaeghe proposes, claiming jurisdiction of the inside of a motor vehicle is a significant stretch of municipal authority.
In the end, bylaws like the one Verhaeghe proposes usually amount to little more than public relations tools. When Athabasca banned smoking in restaurants and bars, it was hailed for a time as a forward-thinking, proactive community that was protecting the health of the public in a way the province should have, but wasn’t.
Then the provincial legislation was passed and the town bylaw became moot.
Now, Leduc, Okotoks and potentially Athabasca will be lauded for protecting children in vehicles from second-hand smoke, and those accolades will resonate until such time that the province catches up and passes an Alberta-wide law. Other communities are following a similar path with anti-idling bylaws.
So while there’s certainly no harm in council passing Verhaeghe’s proposed bylaw, doing so will have a cost attached. Council needs to carefully weigh whether that cost is worth the perceived benefit.
