But mom....Happy Hans has no clothes.

It was a scene right out of "The Emperor has No Clothes". A beautiful cloudless July day was in the cards for Kimberley, already temperatures were in the mid-twenties and rising fast. I was wandering through the Platzl, past racks of new mountain bike "eye candy", comparing new tech versus my old- school (Ritchey) mountain bike, when a mother and her young daughter popped out of the dollar store in front of me heading for the Credit Union. Outside of the restaurant My Place, standing on the sidewalk, a mix of adults were enjoying their apres-breakfast smoke. They too were enjoying the day and sharing some laughs.

Everyone was in a good summer mood.

As the mother and daughter walked past the smokers and into the cloud of cigarette smoke, the youngster cringed,  held her nose, and said to her mom "That stinks". The little girl called a spade a spade - no clothes on the emperor.

 According to the BC Gov. no-smoking rules, there are no rules being broken when someone smokes - as long as it isn't within 3 metres of the business entrance and not in a confined public place. But what about the young girl and her mother who has to inhale the second - hand smoke, which has for years been known to cause lung cancer? The doesn't seem right either, why should people be put at risk in order to visit the dollar store. If given a choice I'm sure fresh, clean air would be the preferred choice for non-smokers shopping in the Platzl.  In some respects the Platzl is actually a confined area, because you only have certain routes through . Maybe its time to consider a "Fresh Air" bylaw for the Platzl?   Also, maybe its time we listen more carefully to children in our town?
Darryl Oakley