found this at
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/Co...889&call_pageid=968332188492&col=968793972154
Apr. 8, 2005. 06:22 AM
Club loses 'private' smoking bid
MEGAN OGILVIE
STAFF REPORTER
An Ontario Superior Court Justice has ruled an Etobicoke adult entertainment parlour is not a private club and therefore can no longer allow people to smoke inside its doors.
The Kipling Avenue Social Club does not meet the requirements needed to qualify as a private club as defined in Chapter 709 of the Toronto Municipal Code, said Justice Randall Echlin in yesterday's ruling. Echlin dismissed the club's application with costs in the amount of $35,000.
Located on Kipling Ave. north of the Queensway, the club was formerly called Seductions International.
Under Chapter 709, the smoking bylaw does not apply if an applicant can prove the location is not a public place. While a private club can let people smoke inside, all public places in the city of Toronto have been required to be smoke-free since June 1, 2004.
Under Echlin's ruling, no one can smoke on the premises unless it's done in a designated smoking room, according to the bylaw, said Susan Ungar, a lawyer representing the City of Toronto in the case.
"This is a wonderful decision for the citizens of Toronto, for both members of the general public who enter public places and employees who work at these places," said Ungar. "(The bylaw) is trying to prevent both employees and the public, the citizens of this city, from suffering the very serious effects of secondhand smoke."
"We are very pleased with this ruling," said John Filion, chair of the city's board of health and a city councillor.
Filion (Ward 23, Willowdale) said the judge clearly ruled the Kipling Avenue Social Club was a phoney private club set up to get around the city's smoking bylaw.
"This (ruling) is a clear message to anybody else that thinks they can get away with this," he said.
"To be a `private club' under the code, the club must operate solely for the benefit and pleasure of its members and direct its publicity and advertisements to its members," said Echlin in his ruling.
But there was no reference to the Kipling Avenue Social Club on the company's website, business cards or on the building itself, said Echlin. This suggests that the club's publicity and advertisements were directed to the public at large, he said.
The club's management had no comment on yesterday's ruling.
"People who deliberately ignore the law and endanger the health of the public should be put out of business," Filion said.
He hopes other establishments planning to evade the city's anti-smoking bylaw by becoming private clubs will take note of Echlin's ruling.
"It's inevitable that people will try to get around the bylaw one way or another, but this (ruling) shuts down the loophole that some people were trying to pry open."
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/Co...889&call_pageid=968332188492&col=968793972154
Apr. 8, 2005. 06:22 AM
Club loses 'private' smoking bid
MEGAN OGILVIE
STAFF REPORTER
An Ontario Superior Court Justice has ruled an Etobicoke adult entertainment parlour is not a private club and therefore can no longer allow people to smoke inside its doors.
The Kipling Avenue Social Club does not meet the requirements needed to qualify as a private club as defined in Chapter 709 of the Toronto Municipal Code, said Justice Randall Echlin in yesterday's ruling. Echlin dismissed the club's application with costs in the amount of $35,000.
Located on Kipling Ave. north of the Queensway, the club was formerly called Seductions International.
Under Chapter 709, the smoking bylaw does not apply if an applicant can prove the location is not a public place. While a private club can let people smoke inside, all public places in the city of Toronto have been required to be smoke-free since June 1, 2004.
Under Echlin's ruling, no one can smoke on the premises unless it's done in a designated smoking room, according to the bylaw, said Susan Ungar, a lawyer representing the City of Toronto in the case.
"This is a wonderful decision for the citizens of Toronto, for both members of the general public who enter public places and employees who work at these places," said Ungar. "(The bylaw) is trying to prevent both employees and the public, the citizens of this city, from suffering the very serious effects of secondhand smoke."
"We are very pleased with this ruling," said John Filion, chair of the city's board of health and a city councillor.
Filion (Ward 23, Willowdale) said the judge clearly ruled the Kipling Avenue Social Club was a phoney private club set up to get around the city's smoking bylaw.
"This (ruling) is a clear message to anybody else that thinks they can get away with this," he said.
"To be a `private club' under the code, the club must operate solely for the benefit and pleasure of its members and direct its publicity and advertisements to its members," said Echlin in his ruling.
But there was no reference to the Kipling Avenue Social Club on the company's website, business cards or on the building itself, said Echlin. This suggests that the club's publicity and advertisements were directed to the public at large, he said.
The club's management had no comment on yesterday's ruling.
"People who deliberately ignore the law and endanger the health of the public should be put out of business," Filion said.
He hopes other establishments planning to evade the city's anti-smoking bylaw by becoming private clubs will take note of Echlin's ruling.
"It's inevitable that people will try to get around the bylaw one way or another, but this (ruling) shuts down the loophole that some people were trying to pry open."
