The proposed territory-wide smoking ban won't be legislated under Bill 104: The Smoke Free Places Act, as it was originally proposed by NDP Leader Todd Hardy.

The bill was moved out of debate in the legislature Wednesday afternoon.

However, the government has stated it will bring forward legislation in the spring reflecting Hardy's bill and other recommendations coming out of the all-party committee report on the public consultations about the smoking ban.

That legislation is expected to come forward for debate in the spring sitting of the legislature.

'I expected it,' Hardy said in an interview yesterday following debate on the bill.

Hardy had pushed for, and stated the NDP would support, any amendments that would strengthen his bill.

However, the Liberal official Opposition sided with the majority Yukon Party government, arguing the Department of Justice needs to review any legislation before it's passed.

Don Inverarity, the Liberal MLA for Porter Creek South, said this morning as the legislation is proposed in Bill 104, it wouldn't stand up in court.

So he'd rather see it be brought forward as a new piece of legislation instead of numerous amendments, which could take a significant amount of time.

'Let's get it right,' he said.

In a statement, Inverarity argued the legislation should also apply to everyone at the same time.

He noted that while Yukoners want a public smoking ban, they also want the legislation done right.

'If the legislation is done by the government and is all laid out and we know that if it passes the muster of the legal people in the Justice department, then it might be worthwhile looking at having the leader of the third party (Hardy) table a motion or bring forward a new bill in the spring sitting,' Inverarity said during debate on it yesterday. He was referring to a suggestion by Cathers, who also said the government doesn't care who gets credit for it.

Cathers has also stressed he wants the Department of Justice to go through the legislation, coming up with a bill that would reflect the 'spirit of Bill 104,' while also incorporating the other five recommendations coming out of the report. They range from banning candy that appears like tobacco products to prohibiting tobacco displays in retail stores.

Hardy argued approving amendments to his bill would allow the smoking ban to come into effect earlier.

'It does push it back,' he said Wednesday of the spring legislation, noting amendments are regularly proposed when legislation comes forward.

That could be the case in the spring sitting as well when the anti-smoking legislation comes forward.

Hardy said if the legislation proposed weakens what was suggested through Bill 104, he will likely bring amendments forward.

If the bill remains the same or is stronger than what he proposed, he will support it, he said.

Looking on the positive, Hardy said the NDP has lived up to its 2006 election promise of bringing forward a territory-wide smoking ban.

He's disappointed though that after the progress made in setting aside partisan politics and working together with the all-party committee consulting and coming up with recommendations on the legislation, it seems it now comes back to political arguments.

In an interview late this morning, Cathers reiterated that the government is moving forward with legislation, though he pointed out it can't technically put Hardy's name on it.

'We'd happily do it,' he said, noting the legislation will reflect Hardy's initiative and what Yukoners were looking for from the public consultations.