REPORT TO

MAYOR AND COUNCIL

PRESENTED: FEBRUARY 2, 2008 - SPECIAL MEETING REPORT: 09-09

FROM: PROTECTIVE SERVICES FILE: 3900-02
SUBJECT: SMOKING REGULATIONS

RECOMMENDATION(S):
That Council receives the report on Smoking Bylaws for information

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
At its Special Meeting on April 21st, 2008 Council directed staff to review a letter from Fraser
Health regarding Smoking and further prepare a report on how to improve the existing Township
of Langley Smoking Bylaw. Fraser Health recommends that all governments provide protection
from second-hand tobacco smoke on outdoor patios as well as substantial buffer zones around
entrances to buildings.

The Township of Langley Smoking Bylaw was repealed when Work Safe BC implemented
regulations for smoking in hospitality establishments. Under these new regulations, Work Safe
Officers provided enforcement to ensure that employers/owners of hospitality establishments
were complying with these regulations therefore eliminating the need for a Township Smoking
Bylaw.

Upon further research Township staff have found that there are only two other Municipalities
that have adopted a Smoking Bylaw, all others have opted not to implement a bylaw for various
reasons. The adoption of a Smoking Bylaw that will either mirror or exceed the Provincial
regulations as set out in the Tobacco Control Act (TCA) and the Workers Compensation Act
raises concerns related to being able to provide staff resources, costs and the possible safety
concerns of staff enforcing such a bylaw.

PURPOSE:
To provide Council with information regarding Smoking Bylaws.
Smoking Bylaw
Page 2 . . .

DISCUSSION/ANALYSIS:
Staff has researched other Municipalities in an effort to find who has initiated a new Smoking
Bylaw further to the latest Provincial Regulations and found that only the City of Vancouver who
is governed by their own Charter and the City of Surrey have adopted a Smoking Bylaw in this
regard. Other Municipalities that were researched were: Abbotsford, Burnaby, Chilliwack,
Coquitlam, Delta, City of Langley, Maple Ridge, Mission, New Westminster, City of North
Vancouver, North Vancouver District, Pitt Meadows, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody, Richmond,
West Vancouver and White Rock.

Both the City of Vancouver and the City of Surrey have the ability of enforcing their particular
Smoking Bylaws as they have a large number of staff allowing them the capability to deal with
this issue. Further research found that the City of Surrey will be assigning two (2) officers to
attend calls relating to smoking. This is a direct result of the concern for officer safety. There
was an incident in the City of Victoria a where a Bylaw Officer was assaulted in the course of
trying to enforce smoking regulations. In view of the fact that most hospitality businesses that
are affected by the smoking regulations are also liquor establishments, the issue of having a
Bylaw Officer attempt to gain compliance of a Smoking Bylaw where the individual(s) have been
consuming alcohol poses a safety risk. Surrey has a compliment of approximately twenty five
(25) plus Bylaw Officers which makes it much easier for dealing with this particular issue and
also has staff scheduled for shifts that run until eleven (11) p.m., seven days week which allows
for longer coverage. The City of Vancouver has a compliment of approximately 100 Bylaw
Officers.

If a Smoking Bylaw were to be adopted for the Township then subsequently there would be an
expectation of having it enforced, therefore creating an immediate need for hiring more Bylaw
Officers to handle complaints and conduct investigations. At present the Township has four (4)
Bylaw Officers in the field handling all complaints, along with assisting other departments in
gaining compliance with their particular Bylaws. With few officers and the current workload,
attending to smoking complaints would for the most part not be completed in a timely manner
and in most cases by the time the complaint was received and the officers attended, the alleged
offender would have most likely left the area. Citizens would have the expectation that if a
Bylaw was brought forward it would be enforced, and failure to meet those commitments would
erode confidence in the system.

The Province has created these new regulations, and now appears to be trying to download the
responsibility of enforcement back onto the shoulders of Local Government without any form of
financial assistance for off setting this burden. The matter of regulating smoking within the
Township should be left with the Provincial Tobacco Enforcement Officers and Work Safe BC as
per the Tobacco Control Regulations and the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations.

Community Implications
If the Township of Langley implemented a Smoking Bylaw and the response time for acting on
complaints was not immediate thereby failing to gain compliance, then the Community may lose
confidence in the system.

Cost and Resource Allocations

If a Township of Langley Smoking Bylaw was implemented with the expectation of it being
enforced in a timely manner, then additional staff to support such a Bylaw would be required.
However, not only would the cost associated with the hiring of additional Bylaw Officers be
significant, the supplement of more staff would still not necessarily guarantee that complaints
would be acted on before the alleged offender(s) had left the area.
Smoking Bylaw
Page 3 . . .

Taking into consideration the substantial costs, the safety of the Enforcement Staff and the
inability to immediately attend to a smoking complaint due to the nature of the offence, the
enforcement of a Smoking Bylaw would be likely be unmanageable.

Interdivisional Implications
It should be noted that the Recreation, Culture, and Parks Division will be bringing forward a
report regarding a Parks Regulations Bylaw amendment in the coming weeks that indeed
includes a response to the LMLGA Smoking Regulations Task Force recommendations
regarding the issue of smoking in Township parks. The amendment, if adopted by Council, will
make it unlawful for any person “to smoke on playing fields, within 7.5 meters of playgrounds or
places where children gather or play, or in public gathering places where people sit or stand
together in close proximity within any park.”

Bylaws staff will work with Parks Operations staff to enforce this amendment on Township
properties managed within our parks and trails inventory. However, it is expected that this
amendment will be “enforced” mainly through public education and in cooperation with parks
user groups. This new direction has been vetted with our Langley Field Sport Association who
fully endorse this bylaw amendment that sends a strong message to our park users about the
associated risks of smoking, and second hand smoke inhalation. The Parks Regulations Bylaw
Amendment will provide staff and sport user groups with an additional means to be able to
affect the actions of those who choose to smoke in close proximity to children, or those non-
smokers who attend sporting events as spectators.

Recreation, Culture, and Parks Division staff are prepared to consider the aforementioned Parks
Regulation Bylaw amendment an incremental step towards a possible future complete
prohibition of smoking in Township parks.

Respectfully submitted,

William R. Storie
MANAGER OF BYLAWS
for
PROTECTIVE SERVICES

This report has been prepared in consultation with the following listed departments.

CONCURRENCES
Division Name
Recreation, Culture, David Leavers
and Parks