NEMI Anchor Inn
Local bar will be smoke-free next month
by Lindsay Kelly
NORTHEAST MANITOULIN--In turning down a request by a local bar to continue to permit smoking in a small portion of its establishment, council has forced the establishment to comply with the Northeast town's no-smoking bylaw, which takes effect on June 1.
At a May 17 council meeting, council members were presented with a request from the proprietors of the Anchor Inn, of Little Current, to grant them an extension that would allow approximately 30 seats in their bar to remain smoking seats until June 1, 2006. A consensus agreed upon by the town and the bar in May, 2003 allowed the bar an extension on the town bylaw until June 1, 2005.
In a written request from the inn, proprietor Bruce O'Hare noted that the establishment's restaurant, meeting room and patio all are already 100 percent smoke-free, and 50 percent of the hotel rooms will soon be made smoke-free as well. With council's support, a one-year extension of the agreement would give the establishment time to adjust until the provincewide smoking ban comes into effect.
"The previous NEMI council granted our hotel an exception from the municipal bylaw, recognizing the negative impact a 100 percent ban would have on our small business and our continued ability to employ people from our community," Mr. O'Hare wrote. "We were then, and continue to be, grateful for council's foresight and concern for the small business sector in NEMI, and the livelihood of the people who work for our company."
The inn is at an unfair disadvantage, Mr. O'Hare continued, because similar establishments across the Island and surrounding area continue to allow smoking, including those in Manitowaning, Gore Bay, M'Chigeeng, Mindemoya, Espanola, Providence Bay and South Baymouth.
"The existence of a bar which allows for unrestricted smoking is significant competition for us," Mr. O'Hare continued. "We are asking to be able to retain the status quo, in an area reserved for customers over the age of 19. The other Manitoulin municipalities have chosen to defer the municipal smoking bylaws in favour of the provincial legislation. The provincial legislation was designed to level the playing field between communities and inject fairness into the system."
Mr. O'Hare provided numbers to back up his argument, noting that, since 70 percent of his bar became smoke-free, beverage sales have dropped 22 percent based on a year-to-year comparison. In addition, the inn owners have had to cut back enough staff hours to equal three part-time jobs.
Councillor Bill Koehler was sympathetic to Mr. O'Hare's request, noting that, before the no-smoking bylaw even came into effect, the inn's proprietors began making their establishment smoke-free in anticipation of the bylaw.
"I don't really know what the problem is, if we can grant him one year," he said. "It does affect his business."
Although he was, admittedly, unfamiliar with the agreement between the town and the inn, Councillor Sam Nardi expressed concern at the number of other local restaurants who had made complaints about the special treatment the Anchor was receiving.
But the agreement concerns the Anchor's bar area only, not the restaurant, Councillor Jim Stringer noted. "The exemption is for the bar only," he emphasized. "We are extending it for one year, or until such time as the legislation occurs."
However, the bylaw concerns smoking in all public places, Councillor Jib Turner pointed out. "The trend in the province is going totally against providing extensions," he said. "Everything is going in the other direction."
Councillor Tony Ferro, who did not even want to address the letter from the Anchor because he felt the bylaw was self-explanatory, felt that "extensions don't work--it's a proven fact."
Quoting statistics from the Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health, he noted that 16,000 people die in Ontario per year from smoking, which is the equivalent of 44 deaths per day. Those deaths also mean a $1.7 billion drain on health-care costs to the province, he added. If the Northeast town wants to protect its citizens, then "what are we doing extending [the agreement]?" he asked council.
He also felt council would be wrong in reneging on the town's own bylaw, "something that doesn't sit very well with me," he said.
Councillor Tom Batman noted that he saw the issue from a different perspective. He believes that by continuing to extend the agreement, the bar makes it harder on itself in the long run. If the bar became smoke-free now, it would already be ahead of the game by the time the bylaw comes into effect.
"As far as the bar is concerned, if someone wants to go have a drink, they will go have a drink," he said. And while the bar may notice a drop in patronage for the first few days or weeks, "I really, truly believe it wouldn't affect their business."
Also receiving calls of complaint from other establishments was Councillor Gary Green, who said simply, "The only way I would even consider supporting it is if we granted extensions to the other establishments that offer alcoholic beverages as well."
In a recorded vote, Councillors Bill Koehler and Jim Stringer voted for the motion to extend the agreement, while Councillors Tom Batman, Tony Ferro, Marcel Gauthier, Gary Green, Sam Nardi and Jib Turner voted against the motion. Mayor Joe Chapman was absent from the meeting.
Following the motion, proprietor Bruce O'Hare noted his disappointment with the decision, but indicated his establishment would abide by council's motion.
"The decision was not the one we had hoped for, but we are respectful of the collective will and will conduct ourselves accordingly," he said.