Canadians are going to need to force government to protect kids from smoking
PAMELA MCCOLL Published:October 13, 2018
A Langley resident has launched a petition to convince the provincial government to ban smoking in all condominiums and apartment buildings.
No amount of second-hand smoke is safe. Children exposed to second-hand smoke are more likely to develop lung diseases and other health problems. Second-hand smoke is a cause of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). The fact that one in six infants and toddlers admitted to a Colorado hospital with symptoms of bronchiolitis tested positive for marijuana exposure should be of grave concern to Canadians as they move to legalization.
The dangers of second-hand, carcinogenic and psychoactive chemically-laden marijuana smoke were ignored by the Trudeau government in its push to legalize pot. This government in fact sanctioned the smoking of marijuana in the presence of children.
The government did not commission an in-depth child risk assessment of the draft legalization framework, a study called for by child advocates across the country.
The Alberta Ministry of Children’s Services’ Child, Youth and Family Enhancement Act Placement Resource Policy on Environmental Safety states that a foster parent must be aware of, and committed to provide a non-smoking environment by not allowing smoking in the home when a foster child is placed; not allowing smoking in a vehicle when a foster child is present; and not allowing use of smokeless tobacco when a foster child is present. As the Alberta government’s policy contains all-inclusive language of “non-smoking environment,” the same rules have been extend to legalized marijuana. Some children in the province of Alberta have been protected under the policy while the majority of Albertan children and other children in Canada should rightly ask: “What About Us?”
The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms secures the safety of children from threats to their health and their life. Section 15 of the Charter prohibits discrimination perpetrated by the governments of Canada. The Equality Rights section states that every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination. The provisions that protect children in foster care should extend to every child.
For complete article https://theprovince.com/opinion/op-ed/pamela-mccoll-canadians-are-going-to-need-to-force-government-to-protect-kids-from-smoking