The quest to ban the sale or free distribution of single-use plastic bags in Thompson has taken another step forward, as the relevant bylaw passed second reading at the city council meeting Aug. 30.
This means that the only obstacle standing in the way of the ban coming into force is the potential for it to be defeated at third reading, which could take place as early as the Sept. 13 council meeting. However, as only Coun. Stella Locker opposed the ban on either the first or second reading, voting against it both times, it appears as though council is firmly entrenched in its position to remove single-use plastic bags, with a current target date of Oct. 4.
"Next to public safety, litter and garbage continues to be one of the main issues Thompsonites want council to deal with," said Coun. Oswald Sawh, who chairs the city's solid waste minimization committee.
Multi-Material Stewardship Manitoba (MMSM), an industry group formed in response to the packaging and printed paper stewardship regulation set out by the provincial government in 2008, and composed of industry stewards, who MMSM notes are "responsible for 80 per cent of the net costs of operating the program," had previously made a presentation to council on July 19, outlining a plan to reduce plastic bag usage in Thompson by 50 per cent over five years. This plan would include three key components - a plastic bag roundup challenge to be held at Thompson's six elementary schools, an annual audit to track the progress of bag-related initiatives over the first two years, and educational programs for retailers designed to help them reduce their use of the single-use bags. MMSM would not go through with any of these programs if council voted in favour of a complete ban.
According to Sawh, the committee prepared a counter-offer of an 80 per cent reduction over three years, seeking a middle ground between MMSM's proposal and the city's desire for an outright ban. "They came back saying no, they will only support the five-year, 50 per cent reduction," said Sawh. Sawh called the MMSM proposal "too little, too late," echoing the words of Coun. Harold Smith, who used the same term in July. Sawh also pointed out that the MMSM proposal was "not really a Thompson-unique initiative like they originally told us it would be," because it was basically the same plan MMSM has been offering other communities across the province.
"I personally got nervous when the province came forward with what I considered an ultimatum," reflected Coun. Charlene Lafreniere, adding that she was glad to see the solid waste minimization committee ultimately suggest that council reject the MMSM proposal.
Most present at both council meetings seemed to feel that it was only the proposed ban that motivated MMSM to act in the first place, and that the only way to extract concessions from MMSM would be to push forward with the ban. "Perhaps they feel a bit more heat under their feat," said Mayor Tim Johnston, noting that the MMSM initiatives are nonetheless worthwhile and adding that the city should communicate with MMSM, telling them that "the city of Thompson is dead serious about moving forward. We're not bluffing, but we're interested in working with you.
For her part, Locker believes that a ban on single-use plastic bags would not be a proper or complete way of addressing Thompson's environmental issues. "I feel if anything, an anti-litter bylaw should be in place," she said. "I don't see plastic bags when I come out of the mall, but I do see pop cans and chip bags." While it might seem simple for Thompsonites to buy cloth bags and keep them in their car for every shopping excursion, Locker pointed out that "people from the outside that come in for shopping, they don't bring their bags. They don't have bags."
The spectre has been raised in the past that a complete ban on the bags could be difficult for Thompson's business community, but Sawh and Lafreniere both noted that it is the companies with the bulk of their operations outside Thompson that seem least willing to adapt. "If you look at the small businesses in town, they've already made changes," said Lafreniere. "It's the big corporations who aren't working with us."
Locker also addressed Thompson's refusal to simply fall in line with similar cities in Manitoba, telling council that "it seems we can't do anything that The Pas, Flin Flon, Steinbach, Portage or Brandon are doing, we have to do whatever big cities are doing. I don't know who we think we are that every meeting we have to introduce a change." Some of Locker's frustration stemmed from the proposed bylaw being based on similar legislation from Toronto, though Sawh explained that the anti-plastic bag legislation did not pass in Toronto, and that the only community in Canada to have an outright ban on the bags is Leaf Rapids.
Council also rallied against anybody who may suggest that the plastic bag ban is being implemented so that the current council can leave office on a high note. "This was actually on the books from the council before us," said Lafreniere. "We're upholding the wishes of a previous council."
"The ban is not just something that's been talked about as a swan song for the current council," agreed Sawh.
"In 2006, when this council took office, this was one of the number-one issues in the city of Thompson," said Johnston. "To think that the issue just disappeared is wrong." Johnston praised the work of the two employees the city has hired specifically to go around the city and pick garbage, but noted that they are not a full solution to the problem.
The bylaw would ban all single-use plastic bags from being either sold or offered free-of-charge in Thompson. Exempt from this bylaw would be bags used to purchase bulk items, such as bags offered in grocery stores for produce and breads, or in hardware stores for nuts and bolts, bags used to contain or wrap frozen food, meat, fish, flowers, or potted plants, bags provided to protect prepared foods, bags used by pharmacists containing prescription drugs, bags which hang on doorknobs and contain flyers and advertisements, laundry dry-cleaning bags, and bags sold in packages containing multiple bags for use as garbage bags, pet waste bags, et cetera. Additionally, stores would not be allowed to stop people from using any reusable container (such as a basket or a cloth bag) that they wish to use.
The city has previously stated that its goal is to reduce the use of single-use plastic bags by 90 per cent by this fall. Extra Foods in the Thompson Plaza has been charging shoppers five cents per bag since April 2009. A provincial plan announced in 2008 aimed to reduce usage of plastic bags in Manitoba by 50 per cent by 2013.
Public meetings on the issue of the bag ban were held in individual neighbourhoods beginning in the spring of 2009, while a city-wide meeting was held at the Letkemann Theatre in June.
