Federal court overturns Canada’s single-use plastic ban

The Federal Court has overturned Canada’s ban on single-use plastics, citing an overstep from Ottawa in designating all “plastic manufactured items” as toxic.

The Liberal government first made the designation in 2021 to allow for the environment minister to regulate the use of these products federally.

The first of those regulations took effect in December 2022 and barred the manufacturing and importing of six types of single-use plastics, including straws, grocery bags, cutlery, takeout containers, stair sticks and six-pack beverage rings.

In her court ruling Thursday, Justice Angela Furlanetto emphasized that evidence shows “thousands” of items under the category of plastic manufactured items that all hold different uses and chemical make-ups.

With this, the Justice said this would undoubtedly include items where there is no reasonable expectation for environmental harm.

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“The broad and all-encompassing nature of the category of (plastic manufactured items) poses a threat to the balance of federalism as it does not restrict regulation to only those (items) that truly have the potential to cause harm to the environment,” Furlanetto wrote.

Toxic substances are defined by the Canadian Environmental Protection Act as those that may or may not be dangerous to human life or health, that “have or may have” a harmful impact on the environment or biological diversity or that constitute “a danger to the environment on which life depends.”

My statement on the Federal Court’s recent ruling: pic.twitter.com/BeKeYxhmY2

— Steven Guilbeault (@s_guilbeault) November 16, 2023

Furlanetto pointed to the government’s own report which she said identified several items, including garbage bags, contact lenses and disposable personal care items, that were either not prevalent or were not known to cause environmental harm.

“However, despite recognition that these items are not environmentally problematic, they are included in the category of (plastic manufactured items) that are toxic,” Furlanetto said.

With the order now being struck down, regulations banning some plastic items could potentially be argued to be improper.

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The Responsible Plastic Use Coalition, which represents companies from the plastic industry doing business in the country, in addition to three chemical companies that make plastics.

In a statement made Thursday, the coalition said it is reviewing the decision.

“We are currently analyzing court documents and will be considering our next steps upon completing that review,” the coalition said in an unsigned email.

Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault said in a statement that the government will hold its commitment to keeping plastics out of the environment, but has yet to provide specific details on how he plans to do so.

“The science is clear: plastic pollution is everywhere in our environment, harming wildlife and their habitats,” he said.

“The government of Canada is carefully reviewing the Federal Court judgment and are strongly considering an appeal.”

This report was created with files from The Canadian Press