brooms trouble

Who knew brooms could cause so much trouble?
In Montreal, a union complained that the city can't let shopkeepers sweep the sidewalks in front of their stores because only we can sweep sidewalks. And in Britain, the health/safety agency is allegedly pressuring shop owners to trade in their brooms for vacuum cleaners because broom-sweeping is, y'know, bad for asthma and might lead to nose cancer. National Post (Toronto) // Daily Telegraph (London)