Anti-tobacco groups push for smoking ban in national parks

Anti-tobacco groups push for smoking ban in national parks MATTHEW FRANK PUBLISHED 2 HOURS AGO Open this photo in gallery: A man smoking a cigarette at the Thousand Island National Park in Mallorytown on Aug. 20. A 2019 study from University of the Fraser Valley found that 11 per of outdoor fires in Canada from 2012 to 2015 were caused by smoking. KAJA TIRRUL/THE GLOBE AND MAIL COMMENTS SHARE SAVE FOR LATER Anti-tobacco advocacy groups are calling on the federal government to ban smoking in national parks to reduce the risk of wildfires and prevent litter from cigarette butts. The Canadian chapter of Action on Smoking and Health is among seven organizations that signed a letter to Environment, Climate Change and Nature Minister Julie Dabrusin earlier this month, arguing that a smoking ban is needed in national parks, historic sites and conservation areas to protect the environment. The group’s executive director, Les Hagen, said the federal government must act quickly as climate change makes conditions worse for wildfires. “We continue to struggle with more and bigger wildfires. Well, here’s a measure that’s absolutely free of charge that doesn’t require any firefighting equipment or resources that the government can implement immediately,” he said. Ms. Dabrusin wasn’t available for an interview. The metrics that reveal the human cost of a wildfire season Parks Canada follows provincial, territorial and municipal laws when regulating tobacco use in national parks, ministerial spokesperson Keean Nembhard said in an e-mail. He said that aligning with those regulations helps visitors have consistent rules to follow. This year’s wildfires season is on track to the be fourth worst on record in Canada because of high temperatures and dry conditions. Wildfires in British Columbia triggered a provincial state of emergency last week after a fire in the Okanagan region forced 20,000 to flee their homes. Fires in Northern Ontario earlier in the summer blanketed much of the province and large areas of the United States with thick orange smoke, forcing multiple Indigenous communities to evacuate. A 2019 study from University of the Fraser Valley found that 11 per of outdoor fires in Canada from 2012 to 2015 were caused by smoking. Mr. Hagen pointed to the 2017 Elephant Hill wildfire in B.C., which burned nearly 200,000 hectares and torched more than 100 homes, as an example of why a ban is needed. B.C. fire officials concluded the fire was likely caused…