BY KEITH LACEY
Angry bar owners and hundreds of hospitality workers are expected to show up in droves at Tom Davies Square next Thursday to protest the Â?devastating effectsÂ? of the cityÂ?s no-smoking bylaw.
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Mauno Taus, owner of the Frood Hotel and National Tavern for more than 15 years, says several bars in Greater Sudbury have closed in the past three months, and he knows of another six or seven that are going to close in the next month or two.
Having so many drinking establishments close in such a short period of time is directly related to the cityÂ?s implementation of its no-smoking bylaw almost one year ago, said Taus.
Â?WeÂ?re expecting most of the bar owners, staff, suppliers and many customers to be down at city hall,Â? said Taus. Â?WeÂ?re taking our message directly to city hall and we want them (members of city council) to finally listen to us.Â?
Taus is an active member of Citizens Advocating Bylaw Reform (CABR), the advocacy group made up of numerous bar owners, which tried unsuccessfully in a court challenge to have the cityÂ?s controversial no-smoking bylaw overturned.
Taus said he sent a letter to Mayor David Courtemanche and every member of city council in late March detailing his and CABRÂ?s frustrations with the new bylaw and how the no-smoking policy was financially devastating numerous drinking establishments across Greater Sudbury.
Â?I havenÂ?t to this day got any kind of response from the mayor or any member of council,Â? said Taus. Â?ItÂ?s just another example of how our city leaders have totally ignored us (bar owners) since deciding they were going to shove this legislation down our throats without having any consultation with us.Â?
When the bylaw was being debated, statistics were used that indicated the damage to the hospitality industry would be minimal, he said.
Â?The bylaw is killing businesses that were doing well before it became law, said Taus.
Â?ItÂ?s devastating us. I know business at one of my hotels is down 40 per cent...a lot of bar owners canÂ?t afford insurance, have had to cut staff and many are on the verge of closing down,Â? he said.
Heather Salter, city solicitor and manager of the bylaw enforcment department for the City of Greater Sudbury, said no bar owner she knows of has ever presented any direct evidence of the smoking bylaw hurting business.
Â?We have not been provided any information we could use to evaluate their concerns,Â? she said. Â?Obviously, some people believe the bylaw has had an impact on their business, but we have no empirical evidence, which makes it very difficult to evaluate.Â?
The city did gather numerous reports from other jurisdictions about the economic impact of no-smoking bylaws and every one indicated the overall economic impact was negligible.
Â?Obviously, these reports donÂ?t relate to Sudbury, but there wasnÂ?t one which indicated a negative economic result,Â? she said.
What canÂ?t be forgotten is the reason for implementing the bylaw, which was to protect the health of workers in the hospitality industry, said Salter.
Â?From the cityÂ?s point of view, the bylaw was implemented specifically to address the issue of health concerns...we havenÂ?t heard any critics of the bylaw ever address this issue,Â? she said.
There are different reasons businesses close, but to suggest the smoking bylaw is the only reason a few drinking establishments may have closed, without providing verifiable proof, isnÂ?t a satisfactory conclusion, she said.
Â?ThereÂ?s no doubt these people have their own personal beliefs,Â? she said. Â?But we donÂ?t have any information to evaluate...itÂ?s all anecdotal.Â?
Businesses that thrive over time all have the ability to accept new challenges and adapt to change and numerous new businesses have opened and are thriving since the bylaw was implemented, said Salter.
Â?When you have a big change like this, itÂ?s not appropriate to look at individual cases, but the whole picture,Â? she said.
Dan Borkovich, owner of MartiniÂ?s in the Coulson Hotel, said heÂ?s closing his bar next month after more than 20 years as a bar owner in downtown Sudbury.
Â?Most of my regular clients would come down in the afternoon, have a couple of beers, have a smoke, talk to their friends and be out of here by five or six in the afternoon,Â? he said. Â?Now they grab a case of beer and go sit in their backyard. Many have told me if they canÂ?t have a smoke, theyÂ?re not coming, itÂ?s as simple as that.Â?
To say the hospitality industry was consulted before the bylaw was enacted simply isnÂ?t truthful, said Borkovich.
Â?They had their minds made up long before any public meetings were held,Â? he said.
Â?My family has been in the bar business in this town for more than 60 years...we paid our taxes, we hired people and never had a problem. One year after this bylaw, I have no choice but to close.Â?
Borkovich said he also doesnÂ?t condone smoking, but doesnÂ?t believe government should be implementing legislation about a legal product.
Â?All weÂ?ve said all along is give people the freedom of choice,Â? he said. Â?If I want to declare my bar a smoking bar, IÂ?ll put up all the danger and warning signs. If the competition wants to open a non-smoking place right across the street from me, thatÂ?s fine too. ItÂ?s the idea of being told what to do and not giving adults the freedom of choice that upsets me the most.Â?
Sudbury has always been a Â?hard drinking townÂ? and the vast majority of bars managed to survive and thrive through recessions, strikes and one of the highest levels of unemployment in Canada over the past 30 years, said Borkovich.
Â?Everyone was led to believe there would be little or no economic impact, but this bylaw has killed my business and IÂ?m obviously not the only one.Â?
The health and safety issue doesnÂ?t wash with him because no one is forced to go into any bar and sit down to order a bottle of beer, said Borkovich.
Â?IÂ?m honestly ashamed to say I do business in this community,Â? he said. Â?In the early 1970s, Sudbury was a great place to do business and the people at city hall actually went out of their way to help business owners.
Â?Now, all we face is red tape and people trying to put hard working people out of business. ItÂ?s a shame.Â?
