Cigarettes are on the chopping block this year as Courtenay plans to update city park bylaws.

Council on Wednesday (Sept. 27) approved a planning document, called the Parks and Public Spaces Bylaws Guiding Document. It suggests to ban cigarette smoking in parks.

Director of corporate services Kate O鈥機onnell told the Record cigarette downsides come from a few areas, including litter, wildfires and second hand smoke. The city鈥檚 goal in proposing to ban smoking is to make Courtenay parks a more pleasant space.

The proposed bylaw changes are expected to come back in a few months time, for approval by Courtenay council.

Substance use in parks

While the city is cracking down on tobacco, it does not plan to crack down on substance use in the same way.

O鈥機onnell told the Record that Courtenay plans to move forward with guidelines set out by the province. While it鈥檚 subject to change, the current policy decriminalizes drug possession as long as the person is away of some public amenities, and has less than 2.5 grams on person.

The director said Courtenay staff trust provincial leaders, and will watch for more information.

In dealing with substance use in Courtenay, the city鈥檚 current goal is to promote existing recovery resources, such as AVI, the Connect Centre, and Community Care. O鈥機onnell said the city is doing this because criminalizing people鈥檚 addictions is the wrong approach.

鈥淎 ticket will not be more effective,鈥� said O鈥機onnell, 鈥渢han connecting someone to services.鈥�

When asked about residents who complain that Courtenay鈥檚 parks feel unsafe, O鈥機onnell said the city is focusing on increasing bylaw presence and activity. The city added bylaw officers, growing the team from one to four, and extended their week to seven days.

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