Eyre says that the ban goes beyond Ottawa’s authority, overstates how bad plastics are, and could hurt small businesses
Justice Minister Bronwyn Eyre said on Tuesday that the Saskatchewan government will join a court case against the federal government’s ban on single-use plastics.
The provincial government says that the ban is an overreach of federal power because waste management has always been a provincial job, Eyre told reporters at the Legislature. He also said that the ban would hurt the economy, especially for small businesses.
Eyre said, “It was an important chance to say again that this is an overreach by the federal government.”
“When the federal government gets involved, it makes things more complicated and adds another level of waste management.”
She said that there are also other things to think about, like how the economy and small businesses might be affected and how the government should regulate the environment.
In 2020, scientists published a report saying that plastics pollute the environment and can hurt both people and animals.
Later, the federal government made a number of policy and rule changes, including a ban on making, selling, and importing certain items made of hard-to-recycle plastics, such as checkout bags, straws, cutlery, six-pack rings, stir sticks, and takeout containers.
Some of these things are already banned, but others can still be sold until 2025.
Several cities and provinces in the Atlantic region of Canada, including Regina, have already taken steps to reduce the use of plastics. Some big companies, like Sobeys, have also stopped using plastics that only need to be used once.
The plastics industry said the government’s plan was flawed, went too far, and didn’t have enough scientific evidence to back it up.
Four big companies took the matter to court. Several groups, including the governments of Saskatchewan and Alberta, have been accepted as interveners. This week, a federal court judge in Toronto will listen to arguments.
Non-parties can take part in court if they can show that they have a stake in the case and that their arguments will add to the proceedings. This is called the “intervention mechanism.”
Eyre said that the Saskatchewan government thinks that toxic substances like arsenic and mercury should not be put on the same level as plastic.
She said, “That’s a very big jump.”
She also said that the problem is not with toxic substances but with waste management, which is the province’s job.
The NDP, on the other hand, thinks that there are other things the provincial government could do to help residents and small businesses with costs that would be better than getting involved in court.
“The intervention is small,” said Nicole Sarauer, a critic of the justice system for the NDP. “The government often exaggerates how much work getting involved in a court case is in the end.”
Sarauer said that challenges to jurisdiction are important. But if the problem is cost, she says that freezing utility rates and boosting the local economy would have a bigger and faster effect.