Jump to full article: Calgary (Alb) Herald, 2005-04-07
Author: Tom Olsen Calgary Herald
Intro: Smoking legislation that will become law in Alberta isn’t about moving on a health hazard that kills people, it’s about off-loading a political problem.
And many commentators on the province’s decision to allow no-smoking exemptions to bars and casinos, etc., miss the fact those venues will be regulated by municipalities.
Any civic law will supercede the provincial law, so smoking crackdowns in all public places are in the works.
The Tory government, at least those in high places, didn’t want anything to do with this issue. . . .
Health Minister Iris Evans jumped the gun when she mis-read Ralph Klein’s comments that "smoking is stupid" as a sign he wanted a ban.
He didn’t, but suddenly it became a big issue which was only defused by the legislature’s half-way measure (a vote in which three cabinet ministers said nay, and at least two Calgary MLAs purposely skipped, choosing instead to munch on cold cuts in celebration of a colleague’s birthday).
The provincial government doesn’t want to regulate smoking, at least not now. It is quite happy to leave the work and the political fallout to other levels of government.
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