Could the City of Ottawa soon consider banning laser printers?

In the city where banning things is very much in vogue, apparently under the guise of "public health", one might soon see a Councillor or three proposing a ban on yet another "health hazard". The culprit?

The laser printer.

Yep, that piece of office equipment that spews out paper at record speeds nowadays has been identified as being a "significant health threat" by Australian researchers. It should be noted, however, that these so-called researchers haven't bothered to analyze the chemical composition of the tiny particles which are emitted when a printer does its dastardly deed... but they seem to be able to note with some certainty that the "problem" is worst when toner cartridges are used for the first time.

I know that tree huggers like Clive Doucet abhor the very thought of a laser printer in every Ottawa home simply because of the amount of paper that they can process these days. Could it be that this new "study" might be the linchpin that spirals a bunch of "well meaning" politicians to force a discussion on whether printers should be allowed in public places or whether they should be banned?

Despite the City's fiscal predicament, its Council's priority list has focused quite a bit on regulating the private lives of its citizens since 2000 or 2001, so it indeed might only be a matter of time before they force us back to the dark ages of daisy wheel printers. A professor is quoted in the article (link below) as saying that these printers are sources of indoor pollution and that there should be regulations.

What do you say, folks? Who wants to circulate the first petition for or against banning laser printers in Ottawa homes and offices? Don't laugh - the saddest thing in all of this is that none of us can be 100% convinced that Ottawa City Council wouldn't waste time discussing and debating this.

Who knows... maybe I know nothing about priorities at all...

Link to the CTV News article: http://tinyurl.com/29hfyq