Thunder Bay approves fine for smoking on hospital property

City councillors in Thunder Bay have agreed to allow security officers to write tickets to smokers on hospital property.

The fine — if approved by the justice system — could be $250.

At a meeting Monday night, the city's manager of development services said the figure was reached after doing some research.

"It's consistent with what other municipalities apply, [and] consistent with the other sorts of fines we have in place,” Mark Smith said.

"What we're seeking is the ability to issue tickets for these infractions. So we, at this point, haven't had the ability to simply ticket people."

The old process involved a lot of paperwork and court time, not just writing a ticket on the spot.

Bylaw, animal services reports presented

Administration also presented reports on the bylaw and animal services departments, but the reports had no recommendations on how to make the services more efficient.

Councillor Aldo Ruberto said he wants to see a more proactive approach to bylaws.

"Yeah, I looked at this report and I said to myself, you know what, it's a good report. I understand it,” he said.

“It's what it doesn't say that makes me worried."

Ruberto said he wants more info from administration on how to make the bylaw and animal services departments more efficient — something the reports didn't cover.

One item that was discussed from the animal services report was how the city can conduct more “humane care” checks. The checks are part of the city's municipal code that aren't always enforced.