Saint John councillor to table citywide plastic bag ban

When Saint John common council meets Monday night, Ward 3 Coun. David Hickey plans to table a motion to ban plastic bags in the city.

“What we’re seeing here on the ground is that Saint John is indeed ready for this,” Hickey said.

Elsewhere in the province, Moncton, Riverview and Dieppe banned plastic checkout bags on Oct. 1.

READ MORE: Greater Moncton’s ban on single-use plastic bags now in effect

And both Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia have banned them provincewide.

Hickey has brought several environmentally-focused motions to the council table in the past.

Last November, he pitched a flyer ban.

It passed a council vote, but we haven’t heard much on it since.

Hickey hopes we could still see a version of it come to fruition in the coming months.

READ MORE: Saint John city council moves forward with flyer bylaw

He’s optimistic this one will pass too, as it’s supported by shops in the city

A survey distributed by the Saint John Regional Chamber of Commerce and Fundy Regional Service Commission shows 75 per cent of retailers in the city support the ban.

Hickey hopes it would also help the city get ahead of the curve as Canada aims to ban single-use plastics countrywide by the end of 2021.

“In having that one step already done on a ban like this, we’re that much further ahead,” he says.

Should the motion clear Monday’s meeting, it will be referred to city staff who will draft a bylaw.

That draft would return to council to be voted on, a process Hickey hopes can be completed by municipal elections in May.