Jump to full article: CANOE Columnists, 2004-08-11
Author: KEITH BRADFORD, EDMONTON SUN
Intro: The number of city restaurants going bankrupt nearly doubled following the introduction of Edmonton's controversial anti-smoking bylaw, according to federal statistics. Health advocates say the bylaw isn't necessarily the only reason 37 restaurants went under between July 2003 and June 2004, compared with 22 the previous year.
But Lindy Rollingson, of the Alberta Restaurant and Foodservices Association, said while the July 2003 bylaw hurt some eateries, the worst is yet to come.
The July 2005 bylaw outlawing smoking in all bars, bingo halls and casinos will hurt those businesses much more, she said. . . .
Industry Canada stats show the number of Edmonton registered restaurants going bankrupt was fairly consistent before July 2003.
Between July 2000 and June 2001 there were 21 bankruptcies, followed by 20 in 2001-02 and 22 in 2002-03.
"Perhaps there's been a little bit of an increase but I think there's been a significant increase in the total number of restaurants," said Coun. Michael Phair. "I believe there are nearly 500 restaurants, so it's still a relatively small number."
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