A move to impose a non-smoking bylaw in all Weyburn locations that allow children or seniors will be the focus of a upcoming public meeting to be held by the Weyburn Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday, Oct. 24.

The meeting will be held at the Royal Canadian Legion, starting at 2 p.m. All members of local businesses are welcome to attend.

Todd Lawrence, president of the Weyburn Chamber of Commerce, said the meeting was prompted by a presentation made to City Council by Donna Wolfe from the South Central Health District (SCHD) on Sept. 10.

In the presentation, the SCHD lobbied City Council to propose a 100-per-cent non-smoking bylaw for public places when it meets with the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association (SUMA) in January.

Janice Giroux, vice-president of Community Health Services, said there are provisions in the Tobacco Act stating that municipalities and city councils may go above and beyond the act's required "phase-in" period by providing non-smoking space in their establishments by yearly increments.

The act, if not circumvented by city council, only requires businesses to have 30 per cent of their space designated as non-smoking in 2002.

"We certainly support the city in doing that," said Giroux.

As a result of that meeting with the SCHD, City Council passed a motion to request that SUMA amend the Tobacco Act and eliminate the "phase-in" period.

Lawrence said the council then approached the Chamber of Commerce and asked them to hold a dialogue on whether local businesses would support a complete city-wide ban.

Most businesses already have a non-smoking policy, but it is a definite concern for any business in the hospitality industry, like restaurants and bars, said Lawrence.

While he would not make any predictions on how those businesses in Weyburn would react to City Council's proposal, Lawrence said it is generally understood that "they're going to want to make those decisions on their own."

Though smaller in scope, the issue of changing the one-hour parking limit for the downtown core to a two-hour parking limit will also be discussed at this meeting.

This has been a concern brought before the Chamber previously, said Chamber manager Carole Coccimiglio, as some people claim one hour "isn't sufficient" for most shoppers.

However, said Coccimiglio, there is also a concern that shifting to two hours would adversely affect the flow of traffic downtown.

All the points brought up at the meeting will be brought back to City Council for their further consideration. Coccimiglio said it is therefore "critical" the public attend the meeting, as it is an opportunity for them to speak with one voice.

In addition to providing feedback to City Council on the non-smoking proposal, Giroux said that the Chamber of Commerce has been invited, along with Coun. Ray Hamm, to a meeting of the district's Tobacco Reduction Committee.

Hamm will be present at the meeting to discuss what options will be available if a 100-per-cent non-smoking bylaw is rejected, but Giroux said the district wants to work with the Chamber to put out a survey to local businesses gauging their support of a smoking ban.