Fresh from drafting a bylaw to ban franchises like McDonald’s, Starbucks and Tim Hortons from Tofino, councillors now want to ban smoking in public parks.

Council made a motion yesterday directing staff to draw up the smoking bylaw, which would go further than provincial laws.

Those laws currently ban smoking in enclosed public place workplaces; within three metres of public or workplace doorways, open windows or air intakes; transit shelters; and common areas of apartment buildings, condominiums and dormitories.

“As a parent, going out there [to parks] and playing on the swings and someone comes up to your kids and starts smoking, it doesn’t make sense — it’s supposed to be a place of health and recreation,” Coun. Gord Johns said at yesterday’s meeting.

Johns said the Canadian Cancer Society has already prepared bylaws for such a ban. A few B.C. municipalities, such as Coquitlam and Williams Lake, are also considering such bans, and earlier this week, lawmakers in California approved a bill to outlaw smoking at 278 state parks and beaches.

In Greater Victoria, a CRD bylaw also prohibits smoking on outdoor patios where people are eating or drinking.

Regional medical health officer Dr. Richard Stanwick would like to see that extended to parks, but so far, that hasn’t been supported by the region. It might start instead with an education campaign, with signs erected in parks asking people not to smoke, particularly around playgrounds.

Yesterday’s motion by Tofino council was supported by all councillors. It’s not clear when the bylaw will come back to council for a vote.

On March 10, Tofino council garnered national attention when it asked staff to draft a bylaw banning franchises in the district, in an effort to protect the area’s charm.