Tonight (March 3), the city of North Vancouver will debate banning smoking in most public spaces.

Councillors will receive a series of proposed bylaw amendments that would prohibit smoking in parks, plazas, and multi-use pathways.

The proposed amendments would also expand the city’s definition of the word “smoking” to prohibit e-cigarettes and vaping devices in the same ways it bans the smoking of cigarettes and cannabis.

The changes would totally ban all forms of smoking around North Vancouver’s popular Lonsdale Quay Market, Shipyards District, and Spirit Trail.

“The proposed amendments to the Smoking Regulation Bylaw are intended to reduce the health risks of second-hand smoke for non-smoking residents of the city,” reads the report going to council.

Another of the proposed amendments would sharply increase the fine for those caught smoking in prohibited areas of the city of North Vancouver from $70 to $230.

The report suggests much of the additional revenue that hire-priced tickets would bring in would go towards raising awareness of the new rules and paying for their enforcement.

“Enforcing additional no smoking areas within the City could result in increased Bylaw Services staffing costs for education and enforcement, particularly as public expectations for smoke-free environments increase,” it reads. “The City may also expect an increase in costs for signage with the additional no smoking areas.”

The report emphasizes how an enhanced smoking ban fits into the city’s larger goals of health and wellness.

“Additional smoking restrictions would align with several of the City’s Strategic Plan initiatives, including a ‘City for People’ and a ‘Liveable City’ that strives to balance social, economic and environmental needs of the community,” it reads.