Ford puts 5¢ bag tax, graffiti on notice

Mayor Rob Ford has set his sights on abolishing Toronto’s controversial plastic bag tax after hearing over the holiday season from shoppers who "can’t stand" the levy.

"All of a sudden the five cents is really becoming a sticking point with people and it wasn’t really before, so I want to get rid of it," Mayor Ford said of what it costs in Toronto to leave a store with your goods in a bag.

David Miller’s regime introduced the fee as a way to reduce the amount of packaging ending up in landfills. Consumers often pay 6¢, when stores pass on the HST.

Several major grocery chains have reported a dramatic drop in the number of bags distributed since the bylaw came into effect in 2009, but critics have blasted the tax, the proceeds of which can go entirely to retailers.

The city encourages the money be given to community or environmental initiatives but can’t force businesses to do so. During the campaign, Mr. Ford suggested mandating the charitable donation, but he said he is rethinking that now.

"I don’t want to burden the businesses with it to say that you’ve got to pay X number of dollars into this environmental program. So I don’t know what the answer is. But the taxpayers shouldn’t pay these 5¢ anymore," Mayor Ford said in an interview with the National Post on Wednesday. "I’m going to change how it’s being implemented right now, put it that way. How we’re going to do it, I’m not quite sure, but we’re definitely going to review it. Because spending 5¢ and just putting it in the pocket of businesses doesn’t make any sense to me."

Franz Hartmann, executive director of the Toronto Environmental Alliance, said that "given that it doesn’t cost the city a penny to administer this," he doesn’t see why it should scrap the fee. "We think anything that reduces plastic use is a good thing."

But Mayor Ford highlighted the tax as one of his important goals for 2011 during the interview on Wednesday. He said quashing the land transfer tax and "getting subways built" are also at the top of his agenda; he’s committed to freezing property taxes for residents "however we can achieve it."

He envisions changing the composition of the TTC to include a majority of transit experts next year, too, and has already embarked on a drive to eradicate graffiti.

"It’s just out of control, nobody likes it, it doesn’t help our city," said Mayor Ford, who has asked senior managers in the parks and transportation departments to ensure the facades of bridges, hockey arenas and community centres are spotless.

He has also asked Jim Hart, in charge of the city’s municipal licensing and standards division, to give commercial property owners a "30-day heads up" that they have to clean their buildings, or the city will, at a cost.