Ontario could ban smoking in cars with children

Ontario could join other provinces in banning smoking in cars when children are present. Premier Dalton McGuinty is committed Wednesday to support legislation banning this practice, admitting he was wrong to oppose it in the past.

Nova Scotia and three American states have already banned smoking in cars or child passengers. The Government of British Columbia is committed to do the same in his recent Speech from the Throne, and New Brunswick and Manitoba are considering follow suit.

McGuinty says last week he was reconsidering the proposal grace the insistence of his Minister of Health Promotion and its backbench MP David Orazietti who submitted last year a draft member's bill. "When I was first talking about the project, I rejected, stated Mr. McGuinty Wednesday. But he convinced me that we had to our children."

The bill has a lot of support, so it is permissible to hope that it will be accepted by all parties during the spring session, scheduled to begin on March 17, said the Prime Minister, who added that the government could launch an advertising campaign to raise awareness of the dangers of secondhand smoke to children.

Ontario has already banned smoking in workplaces and public places like bars and restaurants.