Mr Smitherman moved second reading of the following bill :
Bill 164, An Act to rename and amend the Tobacco Control Act, 1994, repeal the Smoking in the Workplace Act and make complementary amendments to other Acts / Projet de loi 164, Loi visant à modifier le titre et la teneur de la Loi de 1994 sur la réglementation de l’usage du tabac, à abroger la Loi limitant l’usage du tabac dans les lieux de travail et à apporter des modifications complémentaires à d’autres lois.

Mr. Speaker, I’d like to note that I’ll be sharing my time with the member for London North Centre, the member for Mississauga West, the member for Etobicoke–Lakeshore and the member for Mississauga East.

It’s a great privilege for me to rise in this chamber today to speak to a piece of legislation that is fundamental to the work we’re doing in health care. The Smoke-Free Ontario Act is a bill I’m extremely proud of. I think we all should be. It is bold, it is forward-looking and it is, frankly, overdue.

Since we introduced the Smoke-Free Ontario Act in December of last year, there has been a great deal of public comment on this issue, and I’m delighted that the overwhelming majority of Ontarians support what we are doing. Ontarians want us to move forward on the issue of tobacco control, and we are doing just that.

Our objectives are threefold: prevention, cessation and protection. We want to prevent young people from taking up the tobacco habit, we want to provide help, encouragement and support to those smokers who want to quit, and we want to protect non-smokers from the deadly effects of second-hand smoke.

This bill, the Smoke-Free Ontario Act, is the cornerstone of our protection efforts. Let me share with you why this protection effort is so important.

Two months ago, on December 15, we introduced the Smoke-Free Ontario Act. During the press conference that took place that day, I stood beside a woman named Suzanne La Chapelle. Suzanne worked as a bartender for more than 20 years and was exposed to second-hand smoke every day. Now, she suffers from an irreversible lung disease. Every day she fights for breath. Even playing with her kids is a struggle. I’m thinking of Suzanne today, Mr. Speaker.

Most members of this chamber, as well as most Ontarians, are familiar with the key elements of this piece of legislation:

Second-hand smoke in bingo halls, casinos, bars and restaurants is a deadly threat to the employees, like Suzanne, who work in those establishments. This bill, if passed, will put an end to that.

Smoking in workplaces creates a work environment that nobody in this province should be exposed to. This bill, if passed, will put an end to that.

Smoking in elevators or laundry rooms forces non-smokers to breathe poisonous air. This bill, if passed, will put an end to that.

Cigarette displays in stores targeted at kids are an insidious form of advertising. This bill, if passed, will put an end to that.

As I said a moment ago, I’m extremely proud of the objectives behind this bill. I’m also proud of the specifics. We spent a great deal of time drafting this piece of legislation, consulting with various experts and stakeholders and meeting with groups that had input and advice to contribute. My parliamentary assistant, the member from Mississauga East, played a central role in this process, demonstrating enormous creativity, attention to detail and determination. We also researched what was being done in other jurisdictions, across North America and around the world, and we thought very carefully about how to achieve our objectives in a way that was fair and reasonable.

An important part of this process was sitting down with groups like the men and women who operate Ontario’s convenience stores and finding ways to work together with them. We also spent a great deal of time working with Aboriginal leaders from across Ontario to share our goals. They know how serious a problem tobacco is in our Aboriginal communities, and I’m very proud of the fact that our efforts are paying off. In order to succeed in the battle against tobacco, we need allies, not adversaries.

This is a bill that is firm, but it is fair. We do not go out of our way to penalize smokers, nor do we impose harsh or arbitrary targets or penalties. In fact, when one looks at our efforts in context, they’re extremely reasonable.

Yes, there are those who have spoken out against this bill. Some members of Legions have expressed their unhappiness, but the fact remains that a majority of veterans, like some who have written to me, not unlike the huge majority of Ontarians, do not smoke. In fact, the president of the Royal Canadian Legion Ontario command, Erl Kish, was quoted recently as saying that only about 10% or 15% of the 165,000 members across this province’s 422 branches are smokers. I believe that all Ontarians deserve the same protection. I will not be party to anything that treats our veterans as second-class citizens or gives them second-class protection from second-hand smoke.

Some bar and restaurant owners have expressed their concerns about loss of business, but the facts do not support them. There’s no need for guesswork, because the evidence is absolutely clear from New York City, from Ottawa, from Ireland, from countless other places. Think about it: If more than 80% of the population doesn’t smoke, how can a measure that makes bars and restaurants more appealing to a vast majority of patrons be a threat?

Some people have argued that we’re doing too much, too fast, that we’re going too far, that we’re swimming against the tide. Again, the evidence simply doesn’t support them. An objective and thorough look at the evidence demonstrates that what we’re doing here in Ontario is entirely consistent with a much broader, worldwide effort to eradicate the extraordinary harm caused by tobacco industry products.

Let me take a moment to share with the House some news from other jurisdictions. Last month, Italy enacted a tough smoking ban, prohibiting smoking in bars, restaurants, offices and other public spaces. According to polls in that country, 83% of Italians support the move. Quebec is heading toward a total ban on smoking in restaurants, bars, bingo halls and casinos because, in the words of my colleague the Minister of Health in Quebec, "The days of smoking in public places are coming to an end." In England, a white paper on public health set out to make most enclosed public areas, including offices and factories, smoke-free.

Earlier this month, Cuba—Cuba—banned smoking in public places and banned the sale of cigarettes in stores within 100 metres of schools. This is a country with twice our smoking rate and for whom tobacco is a crucial export, and even they are now clamping down. I don’t often have the opportunity to quote Fidel Castro, but I have to agree with him when he said this: "The best thing to do with cigars is give them to your enemy."

So the answer is that we are not charting a new and different course. The anti-tobacco movement is not the crusade of a small group of activists. It represents the broad mainstream of public opinion here in Ontario and all around the world.

While I’m certain that the path we’ve chosen is the right one, I also know that there are still some areas where work remains to be done, so I welcome the debate which is about to begin. I’m anxious to hear from members from every part of this province, because this is an issue that affects every community in this province. I’m also looking forward to hearing from the people of Ontario as we move forward with this piece of legislation.

This government’s anti-tobacco strategy, taken in its entirety, is the toughest, most farreaching and most comprehensive anywhere in North America. This bill, the Smoke-Free Ontario Act, is the backbone of our strategy.

As I said earlier, our goals are clear. Tobacco is the number one killer, the number onecause of preventable death in the province of Ontario. We’ve all heard the numbers, and they are sobering: 16,000 deaths a year; at least $1.7 billion in direct health care costs. But this isn’t about numbers; it’s not about dollars. It’s about improving lives, and it is about saving lives. It’s about keeping our families together.

Let’s come down from our high-level vantage point for just a moment. Instead of 16,000 deaths, let’s think for just one moment about one death: the death of a parent, or a spouse, the death of a close friend, or the death of a child. Every death rips apart a family and sends shock waves through a community. Every death deprives a child of a mother or an uncle or a teacher or a friend. Every single death initiates a cycle of grief and leaves an open wound. Now multiply that by 16,000, then contemplate the fact that each and every one of these 16,000 annual deaths can be prevented. That’s what this is all about.

For too long now, the forces behind the tobacco industry have had an easy ride. For too long we’ve looked away or come up with weak rationalizations as to why tobacco had to be tolerated. For too long we’ve backed down from tough decisions and decisive action. But we say, no more.

Tobacco clogs our hospitals; it damages our economy; it ruins lives. This bill, together with our comprehensive anti-tobacco strategy, will help put an end to this.

I’m extremely pleased and proud to have this opportunity to speak on this bill. I invite all members of this Legislature to join with me and our government in support of this landmark piece of legislation.

We stand here as a government and as a people committed to enhancing the quality of life and the health of the people of the province of Ontario.

As we’re back here in the middle of February, in a session that starts earlier than ever, as a hard-working government putting forward a piece of legislation that has the potential to eliminate the number one cause of preventable death in the province of Ontario, today I can think of no better reason to be working harder than ever on behalf of the health of the people of Ontario than bringing an end to second-hand smoke.