Surveys on smoking issue roll in

With town council still weighing a proposed bylaw to ban smoking in all enclosed public places, the Fort Frances Chamber of Commerce sent out a survey to its 170 members late Thursday to find out their feelings on the issue.
And so far, the response has been impressive.
“I walked in the office [Monday] morning and there was a big pile of surveys,” said Chamber co-ordinator Dawn Booth, who added there were 42 after counting them.
While it was too early to generalize about whether the responses were for or against the proposed bylaw, Booth said, the Chamber will relay the survey results to council at future public meetings on the proposed bylaw, which are slated Tuesday evening (April 16) and again April 30.
“I don’t know if we’ll have enough responses to present at tomorrow’s meeting but we’ll definitely be at the one after that,” she noted.
The survey consisted of four questions, to which the responses include yes or no:
•Will the proposed bylaw banning smoking in enclosed areas impact your business?;
•Do you presently have a policy regarding smoking and non-smoking?;
•Will your business experience an economical impact if a bylaw banning smoking in enclosed areas is imposed?; and
•Should the Fort Frances Chamber of Commerce adopt the Ontario Chamber of Commerce policy on the smoking bylaw issue?
The fourth question refers to an OCC resolution to lobby the province to adopt legislation which reasonably restricts smoking in public and workplaces after consulting with health organizations and Chambers of Commerce “to arrive at enforceable reasonable regulations that protect the public, while at the same time allowing businesses to compete fairly.”
The Chamber announced it would do such a survey during the first public meeting on the smoking bylaw issue April 2. At that time, Chamber president Roberta Oliver told council, “The FFCC feels this issue is a serious and explosive one.”
“Our main concern is the economic repercussions that Fort Frances could face if a bylaw is implemented,” she had said. “Recent closings of several businesses already shows empty buildings on Scott Street.
“And we would have to question how many more would be added faced with this bylaw,” Oliver had added.