All Burnaby buildings are supposed to be free of smoking.
But not all of them comply by enforcing the actual rules. That’s what several tenants have told me about their living situation.
“People smoke in the elevators,” wrote one Brentwood-area resident. “You get on the elevator and you can smell it. I can smell it on my clothing after I get off the elevator. It’s so awful. We keep telling the strata management company but nothing ever gets done about it. All they have to do is check the video from inside the elevator and they can catch the people doing it. What’s the point of having rules if nobody follows them?”
A South Burnaby resident detailed a similar problem in her supposedly smoke-free building.
“We have the same issue with a resident who has smoked in his unit for 2 1/2 years - that is also the age of the building. Nothing has been done, the stench alone, in the hallway is unbearable, as well as infiltrating smoke and fumes to nearby apartments. Our building boarders on Gray Park at McKay Avenue and Irmin Street. We have 40 smokers in a 150-unit building. They gather in Gray Park, to smoke their weed, cigarettes, and a few cigar smokers, too! The bylaws are not enforced, re: smoking in city parks, to this date. Nor will they be. Look at the bicycle riders that don’t wear helmets, for example? Not enforced … We collectively had to sign our life away on a 100% Non-Smoking addendum, anywhere in the building or property, and still there has been no recourse.”
The City of Burnaby has a tougher smoking regulation bylaw set to take effect on Jan. 1, 2022.
Burnaby council has approved bylaw that will mean tougher restrictions on smoking cigarettes, tobacco, cannabis, e-cigarettes and vape products in public parks, city-owned or controlled outdoor public spaces, and certain business premises.
The penalties for violating the smoking bylaw will range from $200 to $500.
“Smoking is a significant public health threat linked to more than two dozen diseases and health conditions, including various cancers, heart diseases and respiratory issues,” says a city news release. “The Burnaby Smoking Regulation Bylaw is the result of the city's commitment to protecting the public from the harmful effects of second-hand smoking.”
The new bylaw will restrict smoking in the following public spaces and business premises:
Public Spaces:
- Lands and facilities owned or leased by the city and intended for public or civic use, except for designated smoking areas.
- All city parks and multi-use paths.
- Bicycle lanes, boulevards, crosswalks, sidewalks, walkways, rights of way and other public spaces or passageways located next to a city park or commercial, institutional or other property where the public regularly gather (e.g. schools, places of worship).
- Within six metres of any public transit facility, including transit stations, bus stops, shelters, benches, poles and signage.
Business Premises:
- Any enclosed or substantially enclosed area of a business premises that is a workplace or open to the public.
- Partially enclosed or unenclosed customer service areas where food or beverages are served on-site (e.g. patios, balconies and terraces).
Exceptions are provided in the following cases:
- Aboriginal ceremonial use or smoking of tobacco or other substances, with the prior permission of the city.
- Smoking during a movie production, theatrical or other artistic performance, with the prior permission of the city.
- Smoking of hookah, except tobacco and cannabis, in business premises that existed and had a valid business licence before the smoking bylaw was adopted (these businesses are listed in the bylaw).
- Business within a residential dwelling that is not open to the public and only with worker(s) who live in the dwelling (e.g. self-employed home-based businesses)
- Hotel and motel rooms designated as smoking rooms.
Follow Chris Campbell on Twitter @shinebox44.
