Welcome to the Pub and Bar Coalition of Ontario (PUBCO) website.
This organization was formed in order to unite those whose businesses will be directly, or indirectly affected by the proposed
(and now passed) bylaw which will prevent smoking in any public place, regardless of steps taken to provide adequate (and
in some cases more than adequate) ventilation. Presently we have 160 bars and pubs as members, and our numbers are growing
daily.
We are very concerned that the city is using our tax dollars to effectively
diminish and perhaps completely ruin our businesses. We will be examining
the possibility with all the landlords of all affected properties of withholding
the property tax until this matter is placed in a study that will explore
all possibilities of obtaining the desired results without the economic
hardships. While it is true, this type of analysis would be somewhat time
consuming, is this type of consideration not what you pay the city for
with your hard earned tax dollars?
We
have been given all kinds assurances as to how this bylaw should pose no permanent threat to Ottawa businesses, but the fact
remains that there has never been any long term economic impact study performed on this subject in this country.
Although we are obviously concerned with how this bylaw will affect our
businesses, we are also very troubled by the fact that the City of Ottawa
has made this decision for the you the public, without taking into consideration
the rights of everybody, instead of what they consider to be the political
majority.
It is important to note that we do not wish to alienate any segment of the
population, but by standing up for our rights at this time, we wish to emphasize
the importance of all people's rights when it comes to such matters.
We hope to rally the support of those in the community who are tired of
having the City of Ottawa casually dismiss their rights, without taking everyone
into consideration before arriving such decisions.
You will find an online forum on this site where you can feel free to express your opinions on this topic, and respond
to others. We invite you to share your thoughts on this issue through this forum, or by contacting us directly.
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