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Manitoba's Year-Old Smoking Ban to Face Another Court Challenge [11/18-1]
Excerpts from: Manitoba's year-old smoking ban to face another court challenge
By Steve Lambert Canadian Press [11/18/05]
Manitoba's year-old ban on smoking in public places is going to face another battle in court.
Robert Jenkinson, a bar owner in Treherne, is appealing his conviction under the law and has secured a court date for Feb.16. "We're really going to focus on the argument about the Charter of Rights and that is whether this . . . offends the equality guarantee under the charter," Jenkinson's lawyer Art Stacey said Thursday.
Jenkinson was fined $2,550 last month when a provincial court judge convicted him on 13 charges, including letting customers smoke.
Jenkinson tried to argue that the smoking ban is discriminatory and violates his constitutional rights because it does not apply to aboriginal reserves.
He said many of his smoking customers have stopped coming to his bar and started spending their time and money at native bingo halls.
But Judge Murray Howell dismissed the argument. He said different treatment under the law does not amount to discrimination. He also said there are plenty of other laws, including taxation legislation, that have different rules for different people.
Stacey said his client's case may meet with more success in the Court of Queen's Bench.
"I think we genuinely believe that as we move up the judicial ladder, we'll get a more receptive hearing."
The Manitoba government has touted its law as an important tool in protecting people from second-hand smoke.
It has also said the law cannot be enforced in areas outside provincial jurisdiction, such as native reserves, federal prisons and military bases.
But Stacey pointed out the province already enforces highway speed limits and other laws on aboriginal land.
Last October, Manitoba and New Brunswick became the first provinces to ban smoking in indoor public places, including bars and restaurants.
Saskatchewan followed last January, while Ontario and other provinces are preparing to enact their own laws.
Rural bar owners have rallied around Jenkinson and have raised tens of thousands of dollars for his case.
Some owners say they have had to layoff workers because of a drop in business.
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