Whitehorse city councillor Bev Buckway told her elected colleagues Monday night she will bring forward a motion to revisit the city's controversial smoking bylaw on March 8.

'The feeling out there is that it is not working; it is not fair for the restaurant owners,' Buckway said in an interview following the meeting.

She said there will likely be several options presented to council by the community if council approves the motion.

It has been suggested, for instance, that the smoking prohibition for restaurants be altered to permit smoking during a specified period of the day, such as after 9 p.m., Buckway pointed out.

It has also been suggested the ban be rescinded until bars are brought under the same smoking ban Jan. 1.

Proponents of the anti-smoking bylaw, however, have asked that if council does revisit the issue to make a 'level playing field' that it do so by bringing bars under the bylaw sooner than the current Jan. 1 deadline.

But it has also been suggested the city revamp the smoking bylaw to allow business owners the freedom to choose whether they'll make their establishment smoke-free.

Buckway said it would not be her preference to move up the Jan. 1 deadline for bars, as that would be going against the promise made by the previous council that bars would have an additional year to prepare for the smoking ban.

She also would not prefer to see the smoking ban for restaurants completely rescinded until Jan. 1, 2005. She said that would be a step backward.

The city's smoking ban came into effect Jan. 1 of this year for all public places, with the exception of bars.

Members from the restaurant industry have said it has hurt many of their businesses, and is even threatening to put a handful into bankruptcy.

Some have also charged that many of their patrons are now heading across the street to licensed lounges for their meals and the ability to smoke, though at least one Main Street hotelier said he certainly hasn't seen any increase in business.

Mayor Ernie Bourassa explained last week that it would take at least a month to make any amendments to the bylaw, given the process issuing the required public notifications and scheduling a public hearing.

The mayor, however, said he too is in favour of revisiting the bylaw, given the level of concern that it has created an unfair business advantage for bars.