As the '98 Hotel and Capital Hotel face more charges of breaking the city's smoking bylaw, the next court appearance for both has been set for May 3.

The Skyjacker Lounge has also been added to the list of accused smoking bylaw breakers, with its next court appearance scheduled for June 7.

Meanwhile, the only other bar to face a charge Sam McGee's Bar and Grill at the 202 Motor Inn will appear in court on May 31.

The dates were set this morning by justice of the peace Dean Cameron.

Outside the courtroom following the adjournment of proceedings, the city's legal counsel, Brenda Jerome, said the time between the first appearance and the following court dates permits time for those accused to find a lawyer, view the disclosure package and decide how to proceed.

Speaking to reporters outside the courtroom this morning, bylaw manager John Taylor said the latest charges for the '98, owned by city councillor Mel Stehelin, deal with failing to request people to desist from smoking, failing to take measures to stop people from smoking and failing to remove all ashtrays and similar receptacles from the bar.

This is in addition to the two earlier counts of failing to request that people desist and failing to take measures to stop people from smoking.

In an interview this morning, Stehelin said he only received notice of the most recent charge at 4 p.m. Monday.

The city councillor/bar owner said he and the other bar owners/managers involved are retaining legal counsel, and he expects they will fight the bylaw.

He pointed out bylaw staff have said they won't enforce the bylaw's regulations. It's up to the bartender to cut people off or tell them if they refuse to stop smoking, Taylor has said in previous interviews.

Stehelin noted earlier the bartender throwing a patron out could be viewed as assault.

Today, he said the way the charges are worded is 'all so general.

'It makes me shake my head,' he said.

The Capital is also facing two new counts of failing to ask people to desist from smoking and failing to take measures to stop people from smoking on top of the two same counts that were laid earlier.

In previous interviews, Capital manager Jonas Smith has said the bar will fight the bylaw.

'We don't have the authority to throw people out of the bar,' he said previously.

A director with the B.C./Yukon Hotel Association, Smith said earlier the organization has already spent approximately $13,000 on legal consultation about the bylaw.

Skyjacker Lounge owner Keith Clark was the only bar owner to appear in court today on the charge involving two counts of failing to request people to stop smoking and failing to take measures to stop people from smoking.

After his next court appearance date was scheduled for June 7, he told reporters outside the law building while he wasn't going to discuss the legalities of the case, he believes it should be up to each bar owner whether to permit smoking in their establishment.

'Let the free market decide,' he said.

Clark, whose lounge is opposite the Whitehorse airport, can understand why a smoking ban would be in place in restaurants, but people going into bars are at a legal age to decide whether they want to smoke or drink, he pointed out.

He suggested if bar owners were able to decide whether to permit smoking, signs could be posted on doorways telling patrons whether it is a smoking or non-smoking bar, who could then decide if they want to go in.

Smoking rooms could also be another alternative council could have considered, he said.

At his own bar, business is down a lot following the implementation of the smoking bylaw, Clark said.

Like Stehelin, Clark pointed to the generalities of the charges, which read 'on or about March 13' as the date of the offence. It wasn't until five days after that tht Clark received the ticket on the charges.

He said staff at the Skyjacker have been instructed to request smokers stop lighting up in the bar, and plans to continue 'following the rules' until the matter is dealt with in court.

The maximum penalty for breaking the bylaw is a $500-fine.

Taylor said this morning some bylaw officers have been working overtime to deal with the smoking bylaw and have attended bars not wearing a uniform to investigate.

At the next court appearance, Taylor said, the bars will likely enter pleas to their charges.