The future of motorsports events in Canada has grown dim. Not only does the very controversial bill, known as C-71 restrict cigarette sponsorship in Canada, but also for all events shown on Canadian television. The same laws apply to television as if they were live events.

On March 3rd, the Canadian federal government moved to limit debate and force a vote onits controversial tobacco legislation in an effort to dispense swiftly witha bill that was meant to serve as a good-news health measure but instead hasbecome a huge political headache for the Liberals, especially in Quebec.

The House of Commons passed the bill on March 6th and it now moves to the Senate for debate and a vote.

Residents of Montreal took to the streets to protest against thelegislation's severe restrictions on the sponsorship of sports and culturalevents by tobacco companies.

Health Minister David Dingwall insisted he would consider nofurther changes to his legislation, which opponents contend will prompt thedemise of such high-profile events as Toronto's and Vancouver's Indy car events and Montreal's Formula One Grand Prix 151; and the many jobs that accompany them.

Tory Senator Pierre-Claude Nolin, for one, said he will be asking thegovernment for proof that restricting corporate sponsorships will dissuadeyoung people from smoking. And he noted it is highly unlikely thelegislation will come to a vote in the Senate if Prime Minister JeanChritien chooses to call an election this spring.

"There is a public health concern here, yes," Mr. Nolin said. "But there arealso enormous implications with the economy and jobs in Quebec. I don'tthink that just because Jacques Villeneuve wears a coat with [a cigarettelogo] on it that people are going to start smoking."

If the bill becomes law, it will ban tobacco companies from advertising their logos and brand names on the cars and the suits worn by drivers when competing in Canada. As well, Canadian tobacco companies, such as Imperial Tobacco, would be required to conform to Canadian law when performing outside Canada.

So an Indy car driven in a race in the United States by Canadian driver Greg Moore and sponsored by Imperial-brand Player's would be regulated in exactly the same way as if the race were being held on Canadian soil.

However, Imperial Tobacco is a subsidiary of the British-American Tobacco Co. of London. British-American manufactures and distributes Hollywood brand cigarettes in South America and owns the U.S.-based Brown and Williamson Tobbaco Co., which makes Kool cigarettes.

CART president and CEO Andrew Craig said at the Homestead race that he wrote to Dingwall, Canada's minister ofhealth, for a clarification of the controversial tobacco bill that wouldlimit tobacco advertising in Canada and issue a serious blow to motorsportsin the country. Thus far, he has not received a reply.

Craig reiterated that the passage of that bill would spell the end of CARTevents in Canada, wiping out the highly successful Molson Indy races in bothToronto and Vancouver.

"We'd be gone," Craig said. "Teams have sold corporate packages that arebased on an entire series. We just couldn't do anything."

"The law wouldn't come into effect until a year after it's passed. Butlooking further down the road, Canadian events would be put in peril.There's a real risk that Canadians would lose some very important events."

The Hollywood and Kool brands sponsor cars that compete against the Player's-sponsored Greg Moore car on the CART auto-racing circuit. Imperial Tobacco's lawyers maintain that since all belong to the same parent company, the Canadian legislation would also have an impact on the Hollywood and Kool cars. And if those cars and drivers did not obey Canadian regulations — you can bet they wouldn't unless the races were in Canada — it would be against the law to televise international races in which they were entered.