Starting today, it is forbidden to smoke in public places, and the new provincial law will change certain tenant habits, whereas it will be forbidden in common areas of buildings of six or more units.
''Owners must adapt to the new measures, and make certain changes to their common areas. Landlords should also tell their smoking tenants that the first cases that will appear before a Tribunal will determine the course of litigation, if need be,” says APQ President Me Martin Messier.
It is obvious that many landlords and tenants are delighted that the government has made this decision as there is a definitive link between serious health problems and second-hand smoke.
It should be remembered that the government introduced “tobacco police”, but they can’t check and be everywhere where it is now against the law to smoke, but they invite citizens to respect the Law.
Some spicy fines are provided for in the new Quebec Law: $50-$300 for an individual who is caught smoking; $100-$300 for an employee who lets the person smoke; $400-$4000 for the operator of the establishment where smoking occurs; $500 to $2,000 for the sale of tobacco to a minor and, finally: $2,000 to $25,000 for the sale of tobacco outside of a permitted point-of-sale location.
Owners and tenants must adapt to the new Anti-Smoking Law
