The B.C. Supreme Court has ruled in favour of the City of Victoria and dismissed a legal challenge to the CityB次元官网网址檚 Checkout Bag Regulation Bylaw brought by the Canadian Plastic Bag Association.
The bylaw will ban all businesses from giving out or selling plastic bags, and impose a minimum charge of 15 cents for paper bags, and $1 for reusable bags as alternative choices.
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The association had claimed the ban would B次元官网网址渟ignificantly impactB次元官网网址� its members who manufacture and supply bags for the Victoria market, and lobbied against the move in January.
The B.C. Supreme Court decision was released Tuesday.
B次元官网网址淚 find no evidence of bad faith in this case,B次元官网网址� ruled Justice Nathan Smith in a statement. B次元官网网址淎lthough some members of council may have been motivated by broad environmental concerns, councilB次元官网网址檚 attention was properly drawn to ways in which discarded plastic bags impact municipal facilities and services. Council decided that those issues could be addressed by prohibiting a specific form of consumer transaction.B次元官网网址�
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The City was happy with the decision and is keeping July 1 as the effective date for the bylaw.
B次元官网网址淭he City is very pleased that the Court has confirmed our ability to regulate checkout bags,B次元官网网址� said Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps. B次元官网网址淭his decision represents an important step in moving away from unsustainable business practices that create high volumes of waste and litter in our community.B次元官网网址�
For more information on the bylaw you can visit .
