BYLAW - Smoking Bylaw - 20191112 - 622019The Corporation of the Town of Aurora
By-law Number 6220-19
Being a By-law to prohibit the smoking of tobacco, cannabis,
and non-tobacco substances in prescribed locations
in the Town of Aurora.
Whereas Section 8 the Municipal Act, 2001, c. 25, as amended (the “Municipal Act”)
provides that the powers of a municipality shall be interpreted broadly so as to confer
broad authority on the municipality to govern its affairs as it considers appropriate and
to enhance the municipality's ability to respond to municipal issues; and
And whereas Section 115 of the Municipal Act provides that a municipality may prohibit
and regulate the Smoking of tobacco and cannabis in Public Places and workplaces;
and
And whereas clause 6 of subsection 11(2) of the Municipal Act provides that a
municipality may pass By-laws in the interest of the health, safety and well-being of its
residents; and
And whereas Section 128 of the Municipal Act provides that a municipality may prohibit
and regulate with respect to public nuisances, including matters that, in the opinion of
the Council are or could become or cause public nuisances; and
And whereas Section 129 of the Municipal Act provides that a local municipality may
prohibit and regulate with respect to odours; and
And whereas Section 425 of the Municipal Act provides that a municipality may pass
By-laws providing that a person who contravenes any By-law of the municipality is guilty
of an offence; and
And whereas subsection 429(1) of the Municipal Act provides that a municipality may
establish a system of fines for offences under a By-law of the municipality passed under
the Municipal Act; and
And whereas Section 434.1 of the Municipal Act provides that a municipality may
require a person to pay an administrative penalty if the municipality is satisfied that a
person has failed to comply with a By-law of the municipality passed under the
Municipal Act; and
And whereas Section 434.2(1) of the Municipal Act provides that an administrative
penalty imposed by a municipality on a person constitutes a debt of the person to the
municipality; and
And whereas Section 435 of the Municipal Act provides for conditions governing the
powers of entry of a municipality; and
And whereas Section 436 of the Municipal Act provides that a municipality has the
power to pass By-laws providing that the municipality may enter on land at any
reasonable time for the purpose of carrying out an inspection to determine compliance
with a By-law; and
And whereas the Council wishes to prohibit the Smoking of tobacco, cannabis, and any
other non-tobacco products in prescribed places within the Town of Aurora; and
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And whereas Section 18 of the Smoke-Free Ontario Act, 2017, S.O. 2017, c. 26,
Schedule 3, as amended (the “Smoke Free Ontario Act”) contemplates that a municipal
By-law may deal with a matter to which that Act applies but in a more restrictive
manner, and directs that the By-law prevails to the extent it is more restrictive than that
Act;
Now therefore the Council of The Corporation of the Town of Aurora hereby enacts
as follows:
1.0 By-law Title
1.1 This By-law may be cited as the “Smoking By-law”.
2.0 Definitions
2.1 For the purpose of this By-law:
(a) “CAO” means the Chief Administrative Officer of the Town or
his/her designate;
(b) “Council” means the Council of the Town;
(c) “Designated Smoking Area” means an open-air unenclosed
outdoor area marked by signage and approved by the CAO where
an individual may Smoke, provided that this area does not conflict
with the Smoke-Free Ontario Act;
(d) “Enclosed Public Place” means:
I. the inside of any place, building or structure or vehicle or
conveyance, or a part of any of them,
a. that is covered by a roof,
b. to which the public is ordinarily invited or permitted
access, either expressly or by implication, whether or
not a fee is charged for entry, or
II. a prescribed place;
(e) “Officer” means:
I. a Provincial Offences Officer of the Town or other person
appointed by or under the authority of a municipal By-law to
enforce municipal By-laws; or
II. a Police Officer employed by York Regional Police, Ontario
Provincial Police or the Royal Canadian Mounted Police;
(f) “Private Dwelling” means Private self-contained living quarters in
any detached or multi-unit building or facility;
(g) “Property” means a building, and includes the lands and premises
appurtenant thereto, and includes vacant Property;
(h) “Public Place” includes Town Property or any Property that the
Town has an interest in by way of easement or agreement, to which
the public has access as of right or invitation, express or implied,
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and also includes any motor vehicle located in a Public Place, but
excludes sidewalks and public highways;
(i) “Smoke or Smoking” includes the holding or carrying of a lighted
cigar, cigarette, pipe, e-cigarette, electronic vaporizer or any other
lighted, heated or otherwise activated smoking or vaporizing
equipment, that contains any tobacco, cannabis or other substance
or product;
(j) “Tenant” means any person(s) or corporation(s) leasing or
licensing Town Property and includes any director(s) and officer(s)
or a corporation that is leasing or licensing a Town Property;
(k) “Town Property” means any Property, which is owned, leased,
licensed, managed or maintained by the Town; and
(l) “Town” means The Corporation of the Town of Aurora.
3.0 General Prohibitions:
3.1 In addition to the prohibitions set out in the Smoke-Free Ontario Act no
person shall Smoke in a Public Place.
3.2 A Tenant shall not permit Smoking on Town Property leased or licensed
by the Tenant.
4.0 Applicability and Exceptions
4.1 This By-law does not apply to a Private Dwelling except when in use as a
Public Place, school, daycare or other childcare facility.
4.2 A person may Smoke in a Designated Smoking Area.
4.3 Notwithstanding Section 3.1 (a), a person may Smoke cannabis in a
Public Place other than an Enclosed Public Place where the person is
authorized to possess cannabis for the individual’s own medical purposes
in accordance with Part 14 of the Cannabis Regulations (Canada) or in
accordance with a court order.
4.4 A person claiming exemption in accordance with Section 4.4 shall have
their medical document on their possession at all times of Smoking
cannabis, and shall surrender the medical document for inspection upon
demand of an Officer.
5.0 Powers of Entry and Inspection
5.1 Officers and persons acting under their direction may, at any reasonable
time, or at any time when there are reasonable grounds to believe that a
contravention of this By-law is occurring or alleged to be occurring, enter
onto any Public Place to determine if the provisions of this By-law are
being complied with.
5.2 Officers are authorized, for the purposes of inspection to determine and
enforce compliance with the By-law, to:
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(a) require any person to produce for inspection all documents or things
relevant to the inspection. Officers may inspect and remove
documents and things for the purposes of making copies or extracts;
(b) alone or in conjunction with a person possessing special or expert
knowledge, make examinations, take tests, samples, audio
recordings, video recordings, or photographs necessary for the
purposes of inspection; and,
(c) require information from any person concerning a matter related to
the inspection including their name, date of birth and address.
6.0 Enforcement
6.1 The provisions of this By-law may be enforced by an Officer.
6.2 An Officer who has reasonable grounds to believe that a person or Tenant
has contravened any provision of this By-law may require that person or
Tenant to provide their identification to the Officer.
6.3 Every person or Tenant who is required by an Officer to provide
identification under Section 6.2 shall identify themselves to the Officer.
Giving their name, date of birth, and address shall constitute sufficient
identification. Failure to provide sufficient identification shall constitute an
offence as set out in Section 7.2 of this By-law.
7.0 Offences
7.1 Any person or Tenant who contravenes or fails to comply with any
provision of this By-law is guilty of an offence.
7.2 No person or Tenant shall hinder or obstruct, or attempt to hinder or
obstruct, an Officer who is exercising a power or performing a duty under
this By-law.
7.3 A court or hearing officer may, in the absence of evidence to the contrary,
infer that any substance in question is cannabis from the fact that a
witness describes it as cannabis or by a name that is commonly applied to
cannabis. For greater certainty, a witness need not possess special or
expert knowledge for the court to make any such inference.
8.0 Continuation, Repetition Prohibited by Order
8.1 The court in which the conviction has been entered, and any court of
competent jurisdiction thereafter, may make an order prohibiting the
continuation or repetition of the offence by the person or Tenant convicted,
and such order shall be in addition to any other penalty imposed on the
person or Tenant convicted.
9.0 Administrative Penalties
9.1 Instead of laying a charge under the Provincial Offences Act, R.S.O. 1990,
c. P. 33, as amended (the “Provincial Offences Act”), for a breach of any
provision of this By-law, an Officer may issue an administrative penalty to
the person or Tenant who has contravened this By-law.
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9.2 The Officer has the discretion to either proceed by way of an
administrative penalty or a charge laid under the Provincial Offences Act.
If an administrative penalty is issued to a person or Tenant for the breach,
no charge shall be laid against that same person or Tenant for the same
breach.
9.3 The amount of the administrative penalty for a breach of a provision of this
By-law, issued under this By-law, is fixed as set out in an administrative
penalty by-law as amended, or any successor By-law.
9.4 A person or Tenant who is issued an administrative penalty shall be
subject to the procedures as provided for in an administrative penalty by-
law, as amended, or any successor By-law.
9.5 An administrative penalty imposed on a person or Tenant pursuant to this
By-law that is not paid within 15 days after the day it becomes due and
payable, constitutes a debt of the person or Tenant to the Town and may
be added to a municipal tax roll and collected in the same manner as
municipal taxes.
10.0 Penalties
10.1 Every person or Tenant who is guilty of an offence under this By-law shall
be subject to the following penalties:
(a) Upon a first conviction, to a fine of not less than $100.00 and not
more than $5,000.00.
(b) Upon a second or subsequent conviction for the same offence, to a
fine of not less than $250.00 and not more than $10,000.00.
(c) Upon conviction for a multiple offence, for each offence included in
the multiple offence, to a fine of not less than $100.00 and not more
than $10,000.00.
11.0 Collection of Unpaid Fines
11.1 Where a fine is in default, the Town may proceed with civil enforcement
against the person or Tenant upon whom the fine has been imposed,
pursuant to the Provincial Offences Act.
11.2 The Town may make a request to the treasurer of a local municipality to
add any part of a fine for which a person or Tenant is responsible that is in
default to the tax roll for any lands owned by the person or Tenant in the
local municipality, and collect it in the same manner as municipal taxes.
12.0 Severability
12.1 If any provision or part of this By-law is declared by any court or tribunal of
competent jurisdiction to be illegal or inoperative, in whole or in part, or
inoperative in particular circumstances, the balance of the By-law, or its
application in other circumstances, shall not be affected and shall continue
to be in full force and effect.
13.0 Interpretation
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13.1 The provisions of Part VI of the Legislation Act, 2006, S.O. 2006, c. 21,
Schedule F shall apply to this By-law.
13.2 Where a term used in this By-law is not defined in this By-law, but is
defined in the Smoke-Free Ontario Act that definition shall apply to the
term used in this By-law.
13.3 The onus of proving an exception under Part 4 of this By-law is on the
person claiming the exception, in accordance with s. 4 7(3) of the
Provincial Offences Act as amended.
14.0 Force and Effect
14.1 This By-law comes into force and effect on the day it is passed.
14.2 By-law Numbers 3351-91, 3486-93, and 4049-99.H be and are hereby
repealed.
Enacted by Town of Aurora Council this 12th day of November, 2019.
Tom Mrakas, Mayor
Michael de Rond, Town Clerk