Moncton ponders ban on plastic bags, retail council would rather see provincial legislation

The City of Moncton is considering implementing a single-use plastic bag ban and they’re calling on neighboring Dieppe and Riverview to consider following suit.

A bag ban will be discussed at the next tri-community meeting in June.

But the Atlantic Director for the Retail Council of Canada says bag bans should be discussed provincially instead of at the municipal level. Implementing various bans depending on where you’re shopping can confuse the consumer and create financial strains for retailers.

“We’d like to see government mandate where reduction targets have to be met,”said the council’s director, Jim Cormier.

“Retail is such an ultra-competitive business, so if there’s some standards that are set at the government level then at least everybody is following the same set of rules and it doesn’t impact business and customer service.”

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For businesses with multiple locations, coming inline with varying by-laws could cost them.

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1:17 Halifax councillor calling for plastic bag ban

The Retail Council of Canada says its members would rather see a bag fee implemented instead of a full-fledged ban, which is already common practice in some big box stores across Canada.

“The environment is in a state and I think it’s about time we took some steps towards helping it,” said Kelly-Anne Denton, a regular shopper who makes sure to bring her own reusable bag.

Montreal imposed a ban on single-use bags and the City of Victoria isn’t far behind: a full ban will come into effect there on July 1st.

Not everyone is in favor of a province-wide ban.

“We have people in our city going hungry and people sleeping under bridges. I think that’s a more concerning issue than whether we ban plastic bags or not,” said shopper, Charlie Burrell.

“Before, it was free for any bag you wanted to have. Now everybody is charging 5 cents,” said fellow shopper, Joseph Smith.

Nova Scotia and PEI are considering province-wide legislation.