Fed up with new smoking laws, a Saint John woman who runs a private special care home for seniors is speaking out.
Jan Sealy, president of New Brunswick’s Special Home Care Association, was recently visited by a health inspector who noticed the smoking shed next to her home didn't meet the demands by the province.
The Smoke-Free Places Act – regulated by Public Health – requires residents to be at least 30 feet away from the building.
"They've given up their home, they've given up their drivers licences, and when they go outside and they socialize with their friends and they have a cigarette, that's their time. That's one of the things they have left to enjoy," says Jan Sealy.
Sealy says most of the clients already have trouble getting around, fearing the extended walk outside could result in slips and falls – especially in winter.
"Why take a little bit like that away from us?” asks resident McKenzie Cook. “I am disabled. I can't walk outside in the wintertime."
“If they take it away from us then I'll have to move," says resident Donna Craig.
The Department of Health says, “The Smoke-Free Places Act applies to adult residential facilities which are licensed by the Government of New Brunswick. The intent of this application is to protect residents who are non-smokers and employees from exposures to second-hand smoke.”
Sealy argues that she runs a private household unsubsidized by government, so the same rules should apply like any private home. The Department of Health did suggest Sealy could build a smoking room inside the house, but only if she provides the appropriate ventilation.
"If I have a room in the house designated as that, the smoke is going to get into the house. Right now you don't smell smoke in this house. They're outside,” says Sealy.
And that's where she's hoping they'll stay, but only 10 feet away.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Mary Cranston.
