May 31, 1988 - Tobacco Control Act

Human Rights a Day

Tobacco advertising and smoking in federal buildings slapped with severe restrictions. Canadians’ addiction to cigarettes has been well documented for generations. However, tobacco companies’ money, influence and smarts always enabled them to entice minors to smoke, and thwart government officials who supported non-smoking workplaces. As more and more people began calling the situation a human rights issue, Brian Mulroney’s Progressive Conservative government made a move. With Health Minister Jake Epp, it passed the Tobacco Products Control Act, which specified a future date – January 1, 1989 – by which no tobacco advertising could appear in or on television, radio, magazines and newspapers. The act also paved the way to phase out billboard ads and severely restrict tobacco sponsorships of cultural and sporting events. The same day, the House of Commons passed the Nonsmoker’s Health Act. This Bill, introduced by the New Democratic Party’s MP Lynn McDonald, severely restricted smoking in workplaces under federal jurisdiction, and created smoke-free locations for passengers on planes, trains, buses and ships. Although the government succeeded in eliminating smoking in workplaces, in 1995 the Supreme Court of Canada ruled five to four that advertising restrictions violated the constitution’s freedom of expression provisions. It would be many years before the government managed to bring in the advertising and sponsorship restrictions first envisioned in 1988.