BILL 10 – 2007
TOBACCO SALES (BANNING TOBACCO AND SMOKING IN PUBLIC PLACES AND SCHOOLS) AMENDMENT ACT, 2007

HER MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of British Columbia, enacts as follows:

 
Tobacco Sales Act

1 The title of the Tobacco Sales Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 451, is repealed and the following substituted:

TOBACCO CONTROL ACT .

2 Section 1 is amended by adding the following definition:

"lease" means to lease as either lessor or lessee; .

<3 The following sections are added:

Tobacco not to be sold in certain places

2.1 (1) A person must not deal in, sell, offer for sale or distribute tobacco in any of the following places:

(a) land, or a building or structure, used primarily for the purposes of a hospital or other health care services;

(b) the campus of a public university or other public post-secondary institution;

(c) a building or structure that is owned or leased by a public body that is used primarily for athletic or recreation purposes;

(d) a building or structure that is owned or leased by the government or a Crown corporation or agency;

(e) a prescribed place.

(2) Subject to subsection (3), if any person contravenes subsection (1) in respect of a place, each manager, owner and lessee of the place is deemed to have contravened that subsection and each is liable for the contravention.

(3) It is a defence to a charge under subsection (2) if the manager, owner or lessee, as applicable, demonstrates that he or she exercised reasonable care and diligence to prevent the contravention.

(4) Subsection (2) applies whether or not the person who dealt in, sold, offered for sale or distributed tobacco, or any other person, is charged with contravening subsection (1).

No smoking or other tobacco use in schools

2.2 (1) In this section:

"board" means

(a) a board or francophone education authority under the School Act, or

(b) an authority under the Independent School Act;

"school property" means property that is

(a) owned or leased by, or operated under the authority of, a board, and

(b) used for the purposes of delivering educational programs or other learning programs,

and includes real property and improvements, and personal property;

"superintendent" means

(a) the superintendent of schools under the School Act, or

(b) a person exercising similar authority in respect of an independent school.

(2) Subject to subsection (3), a person must not smoke or use tobacco, or hold lighted tobacco, in or on school property.

(3) Subsection (2) does not apply to the ceremonial use of tobacco in or on school property if the ceremonial use of tobacco is approved by the board and it is performed

(a) in relation to a traditional aboriginal cultural activity, or

(b) by a prescribed group for a prescribed purpose.

(4) Subject to subsection (5), if any person contravenes subsection (2), the board, superintendent and principal each are deemed to have contravened that subsection and each is liable for the contravention.

(5) It is a defence to a charge under subsection (4) if the board, superintendent or principal demonstrates that each exercised reasonable care and diligence to prevent the contravention.

(6) Subsection (4) applies whether or not the person who smoked or used tobacco, or held lighted tobacco, or any other person, is charged with contravening subsection (2).

No smoking in or near certain places

2.3 (1) Subject to subsection (2), a person must not smoke tobacco, or hold lighted tobacco,

(a) in any building, structure, vehicle or any other place that is fully or substantially enclosed and

(i) is a place to which the public is ordinarily invited or permitted access, either expressly or by implication, whether or not a fee is charged for entry,

(ii) is a workplace, or

(iii) is a prescribed place, or

(b) within a prescribed distance from a doorway, window or air intake of a place described in paragraph (a).

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to the ceremonial use of tobacco

(a) in relation to a traditional aboriginal cultural activity, or

(b) by a prescribed group for a prescribed purpose.

(3) Subject to subsection (5), if any person contravenes subsection (1) in respect of a place described under subsection (1) (a) (i) or (iii), each manager, owner and lessee of the place is deemed to have contravened that subsection and each is liable for the contravention.

(4) Subject to subsection (5), if any person contravenes subsection (1) in respect of a workplace, the employer is deemed to have contravened that subsection and is liable for the contravention.

(5) It is a defence to a charge under subsection (3) or (4) if the manager, owner, lessee or employer, as applicable, demonstrates that he or she exercised reasonable care and diligence to prevent the contravention.

(6) Subsections (3) and (4) apply whether or not the person who smoked tobacco, or held lighted tobacco, or any other person, is charged with contravening subsection (1).

Prohibitions on display or promotion of
tobacco products

2.4 A person must not

(a) display tobacco products, or

(b) advertise or promote the use of tobacco by means of a sign or otherwise

in any manner prohibited by the regulations.

4 Section 3 (2) is repealed and the following substituted:

(2) To carry out the duties of an enforcement officer under this Act, an enforcement officer may at any reasonable time enter and inspect any place

(a) to which the public has access and where tobacco is offered for sale, or

(b) to which any of sections 2.1 to 2.3 apply.

5 Section 11 is amended

(a) in subsection (2) (a) by adding ", including prohibiting the display of tobacco products and prohibiting forms of advertising or promotion of the use of tobacco in British Columbia" after "in British Columbia", and

(b) by adding the following subsections:

(3) Without limiting subsection (1), the Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations as contemplated in sections 2.1 to 2.3, and for the purposes of those sections the Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations as follows:

(a) defining a word or phrase;

(b) exempting persons or places, or parts of places, from all or part of those sections, with or without conditions;

(c) prescribing persons, including by class;

(d) prescribing places, including

(i) by class or use, and

(ii) a private place.

(4) For the purposes of subsection (3), different regulations may be made for different persons, places or things.

6 Section 12 is amended

(a) in subsection (1) by striking out "A person who contravenes section 2, 3 (4) or 10.1 (1) or (2) or a regulation made under section 11 (2) (a), (c), (e) or (h.2) commits an offence and is liable on conviction" and substituting "A person who contravenes any of sections 2 to 2.4, 3 (4) or 10.1 (1) or (2) or a regulation made under section 11 (2) (a), (c), (e) or (h.2) or (3) commits an offence and is liable on conviction", and

(b) by repealing subsection (6).

Consequential Amendments

 
Tobacco Sales (Preventing Youth Access to Tobacco) Amendment Act, 2006

7 Section 1 of the Tobacco Sales (Preventing Youth Access to Tobacco) Amendment Act, 2006, S.B.C. 2006, c. 10, is amended by striking out "Tobacco Sales Act" and substituting "Tobacco Control Act".

8 Section 2 (b) as it amends section 2 of the Tobacco Sales Act is repealed and the following substituted:

(b) by repealing subsection (2) and substituting the following:

(2) A person must not sell, offer for sale, provide or distribute tobacco to an individual who has not reached the age specified by regulation under section 11 (2) (g).

(2.1) It is a defence to a charge under subsection (2) if the person charged with the contravention demonstrates that, in concluding that the individual reached the age specified by regulation, the person

(a) required the individual to produce a prescribed form of identification,

(b) examined the identification, and

(c) reasonably believed that the identification

(i) was that of the individual, and

(ii) had not been altered or otherwise falsified. , and .

9 Section 11 (a) as it amends section 12 of the Tobacco Sales Act is repealed and the following substituted:

(a) in subsection (1) by striking out "A person who contravenes section 2, 3 (4) or 10.1 (1) or (2) or a regulation made under section 11 (2) (a), (c), (e) or (h.2) commits an offence and is liable on conviction" and substituting "A person who contravenes any of sections 2 to 2.4, 3 (4) or 10.1 (a) or (b), an order under section 6.1 (2) (b), or a regulation made under section 11 (2) (a), (c), (e) or (h.2) or (3) commits an offence and is liable on conviction", and .

 
Tobacco Tax Act

10 Section 9 of the Tobacco Tax Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 452, is amended by striking out "Tobacco Sales Act" wherever it appears and substituting "Tobacco Control Act".

Related Amendment and Repeal

 
Tobacco Control Act

11 Section 12 (1) of the Tobacco Control Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 451, is amended by striking out "A person who contravenes section 2, 3 (4) or 10.1 (a) or (b), an order under section 6.1 (2) (b), or a regulation made under section 11 (2) (a), (c), (e) or (h.2) commits an offence and is liable on conviction" and substituting "A person who contravenes any of sections 2 to 2.4, 3 (4) or 10.1 (a) or (b), an order under section 6.1 (2) (b), or a regulation made under section 11 (2) (a), (c), (e) or (h.2) or (3) commits an offence and is liable on conviction".

Repeals in this Act

12 Sections 6 (a), 7, 9 and 11 of this Act may be repealed by regulation of the Lieutenant Governor in Council.

Commencement

13 The provisions of this Act referred to in column 1 of the following table come into force as set out in column 2 of the table: