The Federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault assures that he will not give in despite the Federal Court’s decision to annul a decree that classified plastic items as toxic.
Steven Guilbeault said he was a little taken aback by the decision. In an interview on the program “En direct avec Patrice Roy”, he assured that the government would probably appeal the decision to the Federal Court of Appeal. “If we have to go to the Supreme Court, we will,” he added.
To be honest, both the experts from the Ministry of the Environment and the lawyers from the Ministry of Justice were very surprised by this decision by the Federal Court. And with all due respect: we do not share this opinion [de la] Federal judge, he said.
Judge Angela Furlanetto noted in her decision Thursday that the federal government’s order covers plastic products whose toxicity has not been proven, such as contact lenses.
Although the statement that all plastic items manufactured are likely to become plastic pollutants is taken literally, the evidence available to the Governor in Council did not support the conclusion that all items manufactured from plastic were toxic. , writes Judge Furlanetto.
For his part, the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, Pierre Poilièvre, welcomes this decision and wants to continue to promote recycling.
There is no evidence that these products are dangerous to either the family or the environment. The most sensible solution is recycling. he said at a news conference in Cambridge, Ont., on Friday.
According to Guilbeault, the green transition is already well underway
Steven Guilbeault claims that with or without federal decree, the industry has decided to move away from single-use plastic for some time.
In general, the industry has already turned the corner, there are still a few laggards, but I can’t imagine any company saying, “Ah, a federal judge just suspended the application of the regulation, I’m going to start manufacturing.” Plastic straws again.
Municipalities have already banned the use of single plastics in their area. This is the case in Montreal, where such regulations were introduced in March 2023.
According to Steven Guilbeault, the federal decree was a way to pursue this type of initiative by creating a federal standard. Ottawa first passed a decree in April 2021 that added manufactured plastic substances to the toxic products listed in Canada’s Environmental Protection Act. Then, in June 2022, an ordinance was passed banning six plastic items: grocery bags, utensils, takeout foods, straws, coffee stirrers and beverage packaging rings.
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Plastic straws are among the items banned by federal jurisdiction.
Photo: Portal / Darren Staples
Greenpeace Canada’s climate-energy campaign director Patrick Bonin believes the federal government needs to maintain a hard line.
If we are serious about climate protection, protecting biodiversity and fighting plastic, we must regulate this industry. And this is already happening in several places around the world, such as Europe and many other countries.
A coalition against Ottawa
The Federal Court’s decision follows a lawsuit by the Coalition for Responsible Plastic Use. The group includes around thirty companies, including Dow Chemicals, Imperial Oil and Nova Chemicals.
Saskatchewan and Alberta also joined the lawsuit, declaring the federal regulation unconstitutional.
On Thursday, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith welcomed the federal court’s decision, writing on X that the province had won again.
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In an interview, Steven Guilbeault assured that he wanted to continue in the same direction despite the opposition to his policies.
We must continue to move forward despite these lobbies and despite the obstacles we will face along the way.
Listen to the interview that Steven Guilbeault gave to Véronique Prince on the program En direct avec Patrice Roy.
An international agreement on plastic is being prepared
The Federal Court’s decision comes in the same week as the third negotiating session for the future international treaty against plastic pollution.
Representatives from 175 countries, including Canada, are meeting at the United Nations Environment Program headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, until November 19 to discuss the terms of this international agreement.
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A protest rally was held in Nairobi, Kenya, on November 11 to demand a ban on plastic ahead of the opening of negotiations on the international agreement on November 13.
Photo: Associated Press / Khalil Senosi
A first version of around thirty pages was published in September. The participating countries have committed to reaching an agreement by the end of next year.
Canada will host the next meeting, which will take place in Ottawa in April. Negotiations in South Korea are scheduled to conclude at the end of 2024.
According to Federal Minister Steven Guilbeault, this initiative is a sign that the green transition will continue.
“We would have to think that we are on another planet to think that we will go back and go back to using plastic straws and these single-use plastics that we cannot recycle,” he believes.
With information from Julie-Anne Lapointe