A Trudeau government order banning the use of certain single-use plastic items such as straws and shopping bags in Canada was invalidated by the Federal Court on Thursday.
To adopt its regulations in June 2022, the government decided to classify all single-use plastics into the toxic substances category under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act.
However, Judge Angela Furlanetto, who was appointed to review the case following a lawsuit filed by the Coalition for Responsible Plastic Use, believes the government has interpreted what constitutes a toxic substance too broadly.
“In this case, the Governor in Council (the government, editor’s note) knew that such a far-reaching extrapolation was not supported by evidence and, in particular, that certain plastics included in the list were not toxic,” condemned Judge Furlanetto.
As a result, the Federal Court declared the decree invalid, thereby re-legalizing the six banned categories of everyday items: shopping bags, utensils, Styrofoam take-out dishes, beverage packaging rings, coffee sticks and straws.
It should be noted that this decision is the decree issued by the Federal Government. State or local regulations may still apply. In Montreal, for example, the city passed regulations earlier this year banning the distribution of plastic utensils, tableware and shopping bags in stores and restaurants.
Second ecological setback
Disappointed Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault said he was considering appealing the decision.
“The science is clear: plastic pollution is pervasive in our environment and is damaging wildlife and their habitats. There is increasing evidence that it also has an impact on human health,” argued Minister Guilbeault.
This is a second major legal setback for the government in environmental matters this fall. In October, the Supreme Court invalidated its impact assessment law, which allowed environmental impact studies to be conducted for large projects such as mines.
The law was denounced by the provinces, which saw it as an encroachment on their jurisdiction.