HEADINGLEY, Man. -For much of the last year, Jonathon Barkley has fled Winnipeg's municipal smoking bylaw by driving a few minutes west to a bar in Headingley to enjoy a cigarette with his lunch.
But the 19-year-old construction worker's happy ritual will come to an abrupt end Friday when his refuge is brought under a provincewide smoking ban.
A similar ban takes effect in New Brunswick the same day.
"It's a nice place to come and have a smoke, good food . . and relax," Barkley said as he played a VLT after finishing up a cigarette.
"I won't quit smoking. I'll just have to stand outside. I guess that's the only option."
Manitoba and New Brunswick are taking the lead in Canada with the first provincewide bans that prohibit smoking in almost all indoor public places and workplaces. A similar law in Saskatchewan takes effect in January, while several other provinces already have partial bans that only allow smoking in specially ventilated rooms.
Anti-smoking advocates see the laws as a giant step forward for the rights of non-smokers. But opponents argue it will be impossible to properly enforce the laws and the financial costs - especially for bars, pubs and nightclubs - are too high.
"My hope is this will be the end of second-hand smoke as a workplace issue across the country quite soon," said Francis Thompson, a policy analyst with the Non-Smokers' Rights Association in Ottawa.
"We don't accept all sorts of other workplace contaminants. Why should we accept second-hand smoke?"
Several municipalities across Canada, including Winnipeg, Brandon, Man., and Ottawa, already have strict smoking bylaws in place.
An Ontario Ministry of Health study found no evidence the City of Ottawa's bylaw hurt restaurant and bar sales during the first nine months it was in effect.
However, the Manitoba Lotteries Corp. offered severance packages earlier this year and provincial gaming revenues are expected to drop by $27 million, or about 10 per cent, this year in large part because of the smoking ban.
Douglas Needham, president of the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association, said smoking bans have forced bar owners to lay off staff, slash employees' hours and raise prices.
"We have a lot of trepidation as to what will happen in these two provinces," said Needham.
"I think it's the best of intentions but it's the wrong solution."
Needham said governments have unfairly targeted the hospitality industry instead of taking a broader look at air-quality standards and imposing limits on people's exposure to smoke.
The New Brunswick president of the Royal Canadian Legion said he wants to make sure the law is strictly enforced throughout the province, including aboriginal reserves that fall under federal jurisdiction.
"At least then it's a fair, level playing field," said Dennis Driscoll. "But if there's going to be any exceptions, then we would look at (legally) challenging it as a service organization."
St. Mary's Reserve in Fredericton has already served notice it intends to ignore the ban and allow people to light up at its large entertainment centre and bingo hall.
Last week, New Brunswick Health Minister Elvy Robichaud rejected pleas from the hospitality industry to delay the law, which was passed during the summer, by three months.
In Manitoba, the government hopes the seven-month lead time it gave businesses will go a long way towards voluntary compliance.
Healthy Living Minister Jim Rondeau said there are no plans to hire additional enforcement staff. Officers will instead focus on specific complaints.
"What we don't want to have is people going out as the smoking police," said Rondeau.
"I think what will happen is most people will understand the reason for the ban and most people will not subject their employees to second-hand smoke."
