GOVERNMENT HYPOCRISY
January 20th 2007 14:10
Well the chickens are coming home to roost. As I've written before, Ontario passed a draconian no smoking law, caving in to the ‘Smoking Nazis' as a friend of mine puts it. The following is a letter to the editor of the Toronto Sun. I'd like to share it with you.
Re "Casino smoke room flap" (Jan. 17): Once again we see the spectacle of the big tobacco industry trying desperately to undermine Ontario's tough anti-smoking legislation in concert with the opposition parties at Queen's Park. As minister of health promotion I will not succumb to the ongoing antics of the tobacco companies as they try to push for a weaker and less effective law in this province. The Smoke Free Ontario Act is the most comprehensive law of its kind in North America and we have no intention of watering down the law or scrapping it as the pro-tobacco lobby demands on a weekly basis. The law was put in place to help protect all citizens from the harm and danger of both smoking and exposure to second-hand smoke. Last year in Ontario, 16,000 people died prematurely as a result of smoking, and the cost to our health care system to treat these people and others was $1.7 billion. Unlike Conservative critic Tim Hudak and the big tobacco lobby, I will not agree to exemptions for indoor smoking rooms at casinos or any other facility because I do not believe employees of these facilities should be treated as second class citizens and have their lives put at risk as a result of exposure to second hand smoke. Furthermore, I will not support the Conservative party's plans to water down the legislation and allow a whole series of exemptions to the act. I know the big tobacco companies are in panic mode as they see their customer base shrink. In fact, since the McGuinty government was elected tobacco consumption has fallen by 18.7%, that's 2.6 billion fewer cigarettes and this is great news for the health of Ontarians.
Jim Watson
Minister of Health Promotion
Pretty tough talk. Our town used to allow DSR's and everyone got along. Then a neighbouring town outlawed smoking everywhere. Bars, restaurants, bingo halls, Legion halls, etc. Our Liberal government thought they'd be doing us all a favour by making a level playing field and banned smoking in all buildings across the province. But wait, it now gets interesting.
Casino Windsor and Casino Niagara have seen a drop in revenue of 30% and have laid off staff because the Americans they depend upon for 80% of their business aren't coming over anymore. Meanwhile, Detroit casinos have seen an increase of 6% in their business and are busy planning expansions. Seems Michigan is learning from us just how far to push a smoking ban.
Back to the all wise government, what did they do about this? They allowed the casinos to install smoking rooms (albeit outside) to lure gamblers back. Why? Because the government oversees and makes a ton of money from gambling. No one else is allowed to do this. If you go to a restaurant and want a smoke, you'll have to go outside stand in the rain or cold without any shelter.
Nancy Daigneault, president of MyChoice responded to Mr. Watson's letter thusly, "Let's see if we have this right. The Health Promotion Minister and his government have blatantly abused, if not outright broken, the very law they passed and forced everyone else to obey. They are spending millions of dollars to give its casinos a break in order to retain smokers as customers while denying anyone else the same choice. But he expects to get away with all this by claiming those who are pointing this out are part of a tobacco plot or an anti-Liberal campaign by the government's political rivals. Excuse me -- who has bent the rules to allow these shelters? Why, it is Watson, his government -- and the local anti smoking authorities who have been given the power and funding to enforce the smoke-free law. For the record, it is true the casino issue was first exposed this week by mychoice.ca, and yes we do exist on funding from the tobacco industry. But as Watson knows full well, we are a non-profit group with 41,000 individual citizens. If outdoor shelters for smokers are deemed necessary and acceptable at casinos, they should be acceptable everywhere. The desperate accusatory tone to Watson's letter is a sure sign he knows he is wrong, and the public knows it."
As much as this government, Mr. Watson and Mr. George Smitherman, Minister of Health, want you to believe it is all an issue of health, they seem to miss some fundamental points. First, why are they breaking the very law they enacted? Because they have lost millions in revenue that casinos bring in. Why not allow bingo parlours that also bring in money for the government and give upwards of 40% of their take to charity to have smoking shelters? Second, if as the government says smoking has dropped by more than 18% since this law was put into effect, thus theoretically saving the health care system billions, why have health care costs increased by some 25 to 30%? Third, no one ever said smoking was healthy for you. The battle is about the freedom of choice to smoke where you want. The DSR's worked well here in our town. Both smokers and non smokers could enjoy an evening out at the local pub or restaurant without bothering one another.
In summation, I leave you with another letter written by Doug LeBlanc.
"Re "Won't give in to big tobacco" (Jim Watson, letter of the day, Jan 18): Good on you, Jimmy! It's good to see you stand up for health matters like that! But considering the amount of fumes coming out of motor vehicles, what are you doing to protect workers against that version of second-hand smoke? The oil and gas companies, though, are a different matter, not to mention automobile manufacturers. They are a huge market force, are they not? Yet they are responsible for a massive amount of air pollution that makes second-hand smoke pale to insignificant by comparison. If you are truly concerned about workers not having to inhale second-hand smoke, what about garage workers? What about auto mechanics? Do these people not deserve the same type of protection? But after all, this is only another attempt at government control, isn't it?" And with that, he has hit the nail on the head. Government control. It seems to me that our vets fought against government control when they went to Europe twice, and the brave men and women in today's fighting force are doing the same thing.
We are not living under a Liberal leadership. We are living in what's quickly becoming a dictatorship.
Re "Casino smoke room flap" (Jan. 17): Once again we see the spectacle of the big tobacco industry trying desperately to undermine Ontario's tough anti-smoking legislation in concert with the opposition parties at Queen's Park. As minister of health promotion I will not succumb to the ongoing antics of the tobacco companies as they try to push for a weaker and less effective law in this province. The Smoke Free Ontario Act is the most comprehensive law of its kind in North America and we have no intention of watering down the law or scrapping it as the pro-tobacco lobby demands on a weekly basis. The law was put in place to help protect all citizens from the harm and danger of both smoking and exposure to second-hand smoke. Last year in Ontario, 16,000 people died prematurely as a result of smoking, and the cost to our health care system to treat these people and others was $1.7 billion. Unlike Conservative critic Tim Hudak and the big tobacco lobby, I will not agree to exemptions for indoor smoking rooms at casinos or any other facility because I do not believe employees of these facilities should be treated as second class citizens and have their lives put at risk as a result of exposure to second hand smoke. Furthermore, I will not support the Conservative party's plans to water down the legislation and allow a whole series of exemptions to the act. I know the big tobacco companies are in panic mode as they see their customer base shrink. In fact, since the McGuinty government was elected tobacco consumption has fallen by 18.7%, that's 2.6 billion fewer cigarettes and this is great news for the health of Ontarians.
Minister of Health Promotion
Pretty tough talk. Our town used to allow DSR's and everyone got along. Then a neighbouring town outlawed smoking everywhere. Bars, restaurants, bingo halls, Legion halls, etc. Our Liberal government thought they'd be doing us all a favour by making a level playing field and banned smoking in all buildings across the province. But wait, it now gets interesting.
Casino Windsor and Casino Niagara have seen a drop in revenue of 30% and have laid off staff because the Americans they depend upon for 80% of their business aren't coming over anymore. Meanwhile, Detroit casinos have seen an increase of 6% in their business and are busy planning expansions. Seems Michigan is learning from us just how far to push a smoking ban.
Back to the all wise government, what did they do about this? They allowed the casinos to install smoking rooms (albeit outside) to lure gamblers back. Why? Because the government oversees and makes a ton of money from gambling. No one else is allowed to do this. If you go to a restaurant and want a smoke, you'll have to go outside stand in the rain or cold without any shelter.
Nancy Daigneault, president of MyChoice responded to Mr. Watson's letter thusly, "Let's see if we have this right. The Health Promotion Minister and his government have blatantly abused, if not outright broken, the very law they passed and forced everyone else to obey. They are spending millions of dollars to give its casinos a break in order to retain smokers as customers while denying anyone else the same choice. But he expects to get away with all this by claiming those who are pointing this out are part of a tobacco plot or an anti-Liberal campaign by the government's political rivals. Excuse me -- who has bent the rules to allow these shelters? Why, it is Watson, his government -- and the local anti smoking authorities who have been given the power and funding to enforce the smoke-free law. For the record, it is true the casino issue was first exposed this week by mychoice.ca, and yes we do exist on funding from the tobacco industry. But as Watson knows full well, we are a non-profit group with 41,000 individual citizens. If outdoor shelters for smokers are deemed necessary and acceptable at casinos, they should be acceptable everywhere. The desperate accusatory tone to Watson's letter is a sure sign he knows he is wrong, and the public knows it."
As much as this government, Mr. Watson and Mr. George Smitherman, Minister of Health, want you to believe it is all an issue of health, they seem to miss some fundamental points. First, why are they breaking the very law they enacted? Because they have lost millions in revenue that casinos bring in. Why not allow bingo parlours that also bring in money for the government and give upwards of 40% of their take to charity to have smoking shelters? Second, if as the government says smoking has dropped by more than 18% since this law was put into effect, thus theoretically saving the health care system billions, why have health care costs increased by some 25 to 30%? Third, no one ever said smoking was healthy for you. The battle is about the freedom of choice to smoke where you want. The DSR's worked well here in our town. Both smokers and non smokers could enjoy an evening out at the local pub or restaurant without bothering one another.
In summation, I leave you with another letter written by Doug LeBlanc.
"Re "Won't give in to big tobacco" (Jim Watson, letter of the day, Jan 18): Good on you, Jimmy! It's good to see you stand up for health matters like that! But considering the amount of fumes coming out of motor vehicles, what are you doing to protect workers against that version of second-hand smoke? The oil and gas companies, though, are a different matter, not to mention automobile manufacturers. They are a huge market force, are they not? Yet they are responsible for a massive amount of air pollution that makes second-hand smoke pale to insignificant by comparison. If you are truly concerned about workers not having to inhale second-hand smoke, what about garage workers? What about auto mechanics? Do these people not deserve the same type of protection? But after all, this is only another attempt at government control, isn't it?" And with that, he has hit the nail on the head. Government control. It seems to me that our vets fought against government control when they went to Europe twice, and the brave men and women in today's fighting force are doing the same thing.
We are not living under a Liberal leadership. We are living in what's quickly becoming a dictatorship.
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Tales From The Green Lantern
SL, you're perfectly spot on. The liberal way of governing seems to be, "Shut up. Sit down. Give me some more money." It really is getting sickening.