Ottawa councillors voted Thursday to start a public education campaign to get people to voluntarily stop wearing scented products, but stopped short of calling for a scents ban.
A citizens' committee on the environment submitted a proposal that the city phase in a bylaw banning people from wearing perfumes and scented products such as deodorants and soaps.
The proposal suggested starting with a public education campaign, then following with a scents ban in city buildings and later a citywide ban.
Councillors agreed Thursday to a public awareness campaign in city-owned buildings to encourage people to stop wearing scents
They plan to review the effectiveness of the campaign in 2010 before looking at the committee's recommendations for a scents ban
In the proposal, the environment committee argued that people have the right to breathe clean, fragrance-free air in the workplace.
But some councillors questioned whether the city should be spending money on campaigns about perfumes instead of focusing resources on other public health issues that might affect more of the population.
"But instead we're looking at whether somebody by 2010 will be allowed to wear deodorant or perfume. Just bizarre," said Coun. Rick Chiarelli, who was one of two councillors opposed to the education campaign.
Serge Morin of Environmental Advisory Committee, who presented in favour of the motion, conceded there are larger issues for the city to deal with, but that people are increasingly becoming sensitive to chemicals found in scented products.
Several places across Canada have implemented public awareness campaigns urging people to not wear fragrances to help reduce illness and discomfort by those with scent allergies or asthma.
The City of Halifax began such a program in 1996.
Others with similar programs include the universities of Toronto and Calgary, the Kingston General Hospital and several federal buildings in the Ottawa-Gatineau region.