Restaurants Defy No-Smoking Law Vancouver, B.C., Ban Appealed By Owners Facing $2,000 Fines

A thick fog of smoke stood in some Vancouver restaurants like a wall of defiance Sunday, the first day of the city’s new no-smoking bylaw.

At The King’s Head, owner Fred Valdes allowed smokers to light up, knowing he was facing a possible $2,000 fine.

“It’s business as usual,” said Valdes. “We don’t need interference from government.”

The crammed restaurant included at least a dozen smokers, among them Lonny Elms, 26.

“It’s an unfair bylaw,” Elms said. “It’s a matter of choice if somebody wants to smoke or not.”

Elms said he might not put it out if another customer asked him, but would stop if the manager asked.

Donna Bertram, 34, supports the ban, even though she smokes and dines.

“I have a 14-month-old child and I would not bring him here,” she said. “I don’t smoke in the house and I don’t want any smoking around him.”

Restaurant operators have protested the bylaw, which bans smoking anywhere in their establishments. Adults-only pubs and bars, including those that serve food, are allowed to have smoking in 70 percent of their area.

Violators face fines of $200 to $2,000, and possibly a day in provincial court. Repeat offenders could lose their business licenses.

The British Columbia Restaurant and Foodservices Association, which represents most of the 2,700 food establishments in the province, is appealing a recent Supreme Court ruling that upheld the bylaw.

The city’s 24 bylaw inspectors won’t prosecute until the appeal is heard next spring, but will gather information.

Nick Losito, Vancouver environmental health director, said inspectors were not out checking on compliance Sunday, but would start receiving complaints, gathering information and making their first visits to restaurants Monday.