Bill may be puffing smoke
By Bill Rea

Sault Ste. Marie MPP David Orazietti may not get his private member's bill passed through the legislature, but he has intrigued colleagues, on both sides of the house.

The Liberal MPP announced last week that he was bringing forth legislation to protect children under the age of 16 from second-hand smoke in automobiles.

The Protecting Children and Youth from Second Hand Smoke in Automobiles Act would give law enforcement officers the authority to pull over anyone smoking in a vehicle when passengers under 16 are present and fine them.

"This bill is important because research shows young people are especially susceptible to the harmful effects of second hand smoke and as a result they are more likely to suffer from cancer, heart disease, asthma and a number of other respiratory problems," said Orazietti. "Some adults may not realize that for each hour a child is exposed to second hand smoke in a car, it is the equivalent to the child smoking an entire package of cigarettes."

York-Simcoe MPP Julia had her doubts about how enforceable such a law would be, but she was taken with the idea that such legislation could get a valuable message out to the public.

"It's a very unhealthy environment for children," she agreed.

She agreed such legislation could be seen as intrusive, although she added the public seems generally more responsive to seeing action taken on this issue, especially since it involves young people who might not be able to take action.

"These are people who can't speak up and say, "please don't smoke in the car"," she remarked.

Munro wasn't speaking very optimistically when it came to this bill's chance of passing.

She pointed out MPPs put forth many of these bills, meaning decisions have to be made on which ones are allowed to proceed, so it will likely have to wait in line.

"That's usually the biggest obstacle," she observed.