City of St. Albert updates bylaw to ban smoking in parks and within 10 metres of non-residential doors

Smokers in St. Albert will no longer be allowed to light up in parks or within 10 metres of non-residential doors after city council passed an amendment to its smoking bylaw on Tuesday.

Earlier in the year, city administrators conducted a survey about the issue with over 2,000 people.

Watch below: (From March 13, 2019) St. Albert is considering a complete ban on public smoking. Fletcher Kent reports.

1:54 St. Albert considers imposing complete ban on public smoking

Other stakeholders were also consulted with, including school boards, the Community Services Advisory Committee, the Youth Advisory Committee, the Seniors Advisory Committee, the Environmental Advisory Committee and the St. Albert and District Chamber of Commerce.

The bylaw amendment also saw the definition of smoking “updated to align with provincial definitions and to capture both smoking and vaping.” The bylaw was also updated to change references to “marijuana” to “cannabis” to “align with the modern terminology.”

READ MORE: St. Albert won’t allow any cannabis consumption in public places

The bylaw amendment also includes an exemption for traditional pipe ceremonies.

During council’s discussion of the bylaw amendment ahead of Tuesday’s vote, concerns were brought up about how Edmonton’s Whyte Avenue saw an increase in cigarette butts being tossed on the ground after ashtrays were removed to adhere to a new restriction on smoking within 10 metres of non-residential doorways.

READ MORE: City of Edmonton flip-flops on Whyte Avenue ashtrays

Watch below: (From October 2018) New bylaw rules are meant to clear the air when it comes to all forms of smoking. But will the changes lead to more litter on streets and sidewalks in Edmonton? Vinesh Pratap takes a look.

1:59 Will Edmonton smoking bylaw changes mean more litter?

Concerns were also expressed about how well the city would be able to enforce the updated smoking rules. However, the amendment was passed unanimously by city council.