Niagara Region Public Health wants public opinion about smoking tobacco or cannabis and vaping in outdoor spaces.

Feedback to a short survey it created will inform future actions on policy.

On Jan. 17, Niagara regional council approved an interim bylaw to also prohibit smoking tobacco or cannabis and vaping on all regional and municipal outdoor properties, including parks, playgrounds, splash pads and pools, and sporting arenas.

One of the survey questions asks whether participants support updating the bylaw to prohibit smoking tobacco or cannabis (medical or recreational) and vaping in additional public spaces not currently covered in the interim bylaw.

The additional public spaces are listed as: A nine-metre radius surrounding any entrance or exit of a public building; municipal recreational trails; municipal beaches; and outdoor community meeting areas which are defined as the whole or part of any outdoor area owned, leased or controlled by the Region or municipality. Survey takers can also indicate other spaces.

Diana Teng, manager of chronic disease and injury prevention with Niagara Region Public Health, said after the Smoke Free Ontario Act was modified to reflect the legalization of recreational cannabis, regional officials wanted to make sure there was a "harmonization" between the use of cannabis and tobacco in Niagara.

She said there is a one-year sunset clause on the interim bylaw, which will allow officials to go through a public consultation process "to see what the public thinks and to see what direction we want to go moving forward."

Teng said local area municipalities are also part of the consultation process.

Any future changes to Niagara Region's Smoke-Free Outdoor Places bylaw would require a triple majority for approval, meaning the Region would need to win the support of the majority of the lower-tier councils representing the majority of Niagara's electors.

"The Smoke-Free Ontario Act would be our provincial legislation that would cover all places in Ontario," said Teng.

"Through the Smoke-Free Ontario Act, there's been some places such as sporting arenas, playgrounds, recreation centres, which were covered under our bylaw, but now the restrictions at the provincial level are actually more restrictive than our bylaw. We wanted to use this consultation process just to benchmark what is the public thinking at this point? Are there other areas where they think that they need more spaces that are covered under our bylaw?"

Teng said the Region's Smoke-Free Outdoor Spaces bylaw was written in 2012 to include all municipal and regional properties.

"There were a couple of exclusions to that - things like the beaches and trails - and that's why we're putting it back on the table to find out what is the public thinking about those spaces? Should they continue to not be included or would they like to see it included?"

At the end of the survey, participants can enter their name and email address for a chance to win a $50 gift card.

The survey went live March 4 and will remain open until April 5.

Information provided by survey participants is kept confidential.

The survey can be found at https://www.niagararegion.ca/health/substances/speak-up-and-win-survey.aspx.

Recreational cannabis became legal in Canada on Oct. 17.

On the same day, the provincial government modified the Smoke-Free Ontario Act to prohibit the use of cannabis and vaping products wherever tobacco is not allowed.

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Raymond.Spiteri@niagaradailies.com

905-225-1645 | @RaySpiteri