Smoke Free P.E.I. pushing new government to ban smoking in public housing

The advocacy group Smoke Free P.E.I. is calling on the newPC government toban smoking in all itsseniors' and low-income public housing buildings.

Frank Morrison, a member of the group, says he continuallyhearscomplaints from tenants in multi-unitbuildings bothered by second-hand cigarette and marijuana smoke drifting into their apartment, and leaving a smell.

"It's tragically very common," said Morrison. "Unfortunately though, people are not as comfortable speaking out,especially people in subsidized housing units where they cannot move out of them."

Tamara MacDonald, who lives in a government-run housing unit on Queen Street in Charlottetown, said she's long been complaining to her landlord and politiciansabout the smoke drifting into her apartment.

"Whenever [other tenants] smoke, it comes in through the heaters. It comes in through the vents. It comes in anywhere that it can come through," said MacDonald. "Most times, when the smoke gets to be too much, I go for a walk. And a person shouldn't have to leave their apartment just for that purpose."

Government scrapped plan to make building smoke-free

In an email to MacDonald last fall, then Family and Human Services Minister Tina Mundy said her government "hopes to have notices posted by end of Novemberthat will indicate the multi-unit building you live in, will be smoke-free effective Jan.1/19. After that date, there willbe a designated area for smokers outside."

But to date, no signs have gone up.

Chris Reeves, the provincial housing co-ordinator, said the board that oversees MacDonald'sbuildingdetermined that because seven of the nine tenants in the building are smokers, it wasn't realistic to make it smoke-free.

In fact, while the province does designate new multi-unit builds as smoke-free, and has done the same with older buildings that have just a few tenants who smoke, Reeves saidbuildings where the majority of tenants are smokers may never go smoke-free.

He points out that 50 per centof the tenants on the registry for familyhousing, and 25 per centon the list for seniors' housing are smokers.

"We have a highpercentage of smokers on a registry list and you know if they choose not to quit, I mean they still need to be housed," said Reeves.

Lowell Nicholson, a long-time smoker who lives in a government-run seniors' building next to MacDonald's, says the province's approach makes sense.

"It's differentin new buildings going up and you know right off the bat it's smoke-free.But where people have lived for years and smoked in their place, it's too late to change the rules then," said Nicholson.

Move to ban smoking inside and out: Smoke Free P.E.I.

But Morrison says his group wants to see allsmokers forced to designated areas outside for now, with smoking eventually banned completely inside and out.

"They would go outside to smoke temporarily," he said."And gradually, as we get them the help [needed to quit], we'll clean up their apartments and make their place fresh and fit to live in again."

In 2018, the legislature's health and wellness committee recommended government consider banning smoking at all apartment buildings on P.E.I., and that public housing should lead the way.

At the time, the PC's supported that recommendation, with then Opposition health critic Sidney MacEwen saying "government should probably lead by example in government-run facilities."

"They've talked the talk," said Morrison. "Now we're going to hold them accountable for walking the walk."

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