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Heather Crowe (activist)

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Heather Crowe
Born(1945-04-23)April 23, 1945
DiedMay 22, 2006(2006-05-22) (aged 61)
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Occupation(s)Retired Waitress, Spokesperson for SmokefreeCanada
WebsiteHeather Crowe at smoke-free.ca

Heather Crowe (April 23, 1945, Yarmouth, Nova Scotia – May 22, 2006, Ottawa, Ontario) was a Canadian waitress who became the public face of Canada's anti-smoking campaign.

Crowe was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2002. She said that she had "never smoked a day in her life",[citation needed] and believed her cancer to be the result of regularly breathing second-hand smoke at her workplace, Moe's Newport Restaurant, for over forty years. In 2002, she submitted a successful claim related to second-hand smoke exposure in the workplace to the Ontario Workplace Safety & Insurance Board for lost earnings and health care benefits. Based on her $12,000 salary, WSIB awarded her $200 a week, $4,000 a year to help with medical expenses and a one-time payment of $40,000 for pain and suffering.

Shortly before Christmas, 2003, WSIB ordered the 59-year-old Crowe, still undergoing chemotherapy and radiation therapy, back to work.[1]

Following Crowe's lobbying campaign, the province of Ontario passed an anti-smoking bill which banned smoking in all indoor public spaces and near the entrances of government buildings. The law came into effect four days after Crowe's death in 2006.[2]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Heather Crowe's life in limbo". CanWest MediaWorks Publications Inc. February 22, 2006. Archived from the original on November 9, 2012.
  2. ^ Obituary on CTV News, ctv.ca; accessed May 11, 2014.
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