A petition with 12,000 names on it has ignited debate over pushing Calgary's no-smoking ban ahead one year.

Robyn Hefferton, who represents a group lobbying for a smoke-free Calgary, presented the petition Thursday morning to Ald. Diane Colley-Urquhart.

The original goal was 1,000 signatures, said Hefferton.

"The only reason why I ended up here was because the support was overwhelming. It took me two days to get 1,000 signatures," she said.

Colley-Urquhart plans to submit the petition to council Monday when she brings forward a motion pushing the no-smoking bylaw forward a year to January 2007. Six aldermen support the idea.

'What's the ethics of that?'

The proposed move isn't sitting too well with a group representing pubs and bars in Calgary.

Spokesman and bar owner Charlie Mendelman said council should stick to the original agreement of Jan. 1, 2008, a date on which all sides originally agreed.

"And now we found that there are councillors who aren't happy with the way things are. They get to bring it back and bring it back and bring it back. What's the ethics of that?"