By Barrie McKenna
Parliamentary Bureau

Health Minister David Dingwall said yesterday that he is considering changesto his anti-tobacco bill that would appease critics in the arts and sportingcommunity.

Speaking to reporters outside the House of Commons, Mr. Dingwall said hewill not be "blackmailed" into backing down, but he confirmed for the firsttime that delaying implementation of the legislation's contentioussponsorship provisions by up to three years is an option.

"I don't want to prejudge as to what we will do and what we will not do, butI will give them [the proposed changes] a reasonable and comprehensivelook," Mr. Dingwall said. "And when we come back to the House, we will beready to move in a very expeditious fashion."

The government is also believed to be considering an exemption for many ofthe marquee international events financed by the tobacco industry funds,including the Indy auto races in Toronto and Vancouver, Montreal Grand Prixauto race, professional tennis and even the major urban jazz festivals.

But one of the co-ordinators of the tobacco-industry-funded Alliance forSponsorship Freedom said arts and sporting groups are looking for evenbroader changes to ensure that sponsorship does not dry up entirely.

"There is a small window open to us," said Max Beck, a spokesman for thealliance and general manager of Ontario Place in Toronto.

Liberal MP Martin Cauchon, a junior minister from Quebec in Prime MinisterJean Chritien's cabinet, has been brokering a possible compromise on behalfof Quebec MPs. Mr. Dingwall confirmed yesterday that he is now ready to meetmembers of the group in the coming days.

On the weekend, Canada's three major tobacco manufacturers warned innewspaper advertisements that Mr. Dingwall's Tobacco Act, known as BillC-71, would "inevitably lead to the cancellation of many events," as well ascost thousands of jobs and millions of lost tourism dollars.

Citing an recent poll by Insight Canada, they argue that most Canadianssupport the industry's right to continue sponsoring events.

The bill would ban most forms of advertising, put stricter controls on thesale of tobacco products plus restrict the form and location of tobaccosponsorship ads and logos.

But the legislation, introduced late last year, has become a major headachefor the Liberal government as it prepares for an election as early as thisspring. Nowhere is opposition greater than in Quebec, which receives as muchas half of the $60-million a year spent by the tobacco industry onsponsorship in Canada.

When the federal Liberal caucus met in Quebec City last month, they werelobbied intensely by the organizers of several major tobacco-sponsoredevents, who warned of severe economic consequences, particularly inMontreal.

Bill C-71 was to have returned to the House as early as yesterday, after twodays of hearings before the Commons health committee just before Christmas.But the bill was not on the order paper, prompting considerable speculationthat Ottawa is preparing to soften the bill.

News of a likely weakening of the bill does not sit well with anti-smokinggroups. "If a deal is being worked out, public health has to be at thetable," said Heather Seline of the Non-Smokers Rights Association.

Any exemption for international events would mean that the most-watchedevents by young people, such as auto racing, would continue to be a primevehicle for tobacco advertising, she said.

"I don't think it's a good idea to have a youth idol like [race car driver]Jacques Villeneuve with a tobacco name on his chest," Ms. Seline added. "Themessage that conveys is precisely what this bill was supposed to stop. Kidswon't know the difference."

Exempting high-profile events at the expense of other less well-known artsand sporting groups would also create a two-tiered system that would createwinners and losers.

Such an exemption would be totally unacceptable to the artistic community,said Keith Kelly of the Canadian Conference for the Arts. "If the governmentis really interested in preventing smoking, it would not make sense for artsevents not to be treated the same as the Indy car race."

Bloc Quibicois health critic Antoine Dubi said his party, which voted infavour of the bill when it was first introduced, would now oppose the billunless the sponsorship provisions are fundamentally changed.

Mr. Dubi said the government is clearly looking for a compromise and a "wayto limit its damages" as an election nears.

But he said the Bloc won't fall for an "electoral trap" and will insist thatthe government agrees to much more than a phase-in of the sponsorshiprestrictions.

"Support for tobacco sponsorship is higher in Quebec," he said. "TheLiberals know that and they are nervous."

Source: The Globe and Mail Company