REQUEST FOR DECISION
DATE: October 1, 2020 Report No. DEV-20-067
TO: Laurie Hurst, Chief Administrative Officer
FROM: Tricia deMacedo, Policy Planner and Bill Brown, Director of Development Services
SUBJECT:
Title
Checkout Bag Regulation
End
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
That Council resolves to rescind third reading of Checkout Bag Regulation Bylaw, 2019, No. 2953, attached as Appendix B to Staff Report DEV-20-067; amend and read anew a third time; and further,
That Council authorize the Corporate Officer to submit the bylaw as amended, to the Minister of the Environment for Provincial approval prior to returning the bylaw to Council for consideration of adoption.
Body
RELEVANT POLICY:
Community Charter
STRATEGIC RELEVANCE:
Healthy, Livable and Diverse Community - Develop and implement strategies that reduce impact on the environment consistent with our Climate Action Charter goals.
BACKGROUND:
In July 2019, Esquimalt Council approved second and third readings of Checkout Bag Regulation Bylaw, 2019, No. 2953, which would prohibit the use of plastic checkout bags by businesses within the Township. Council also approved an engagement plan for working with businesses to ensure that adequate notice was given to customers and direction given to staff in preparation for the implementation of the regulation.
One week later and prior to final adoption of the bylaw, a similar bylaw prepared by the City of Victoria was struck down. Following a challenge from the Canadian Plastic Bag Association, the B.C. Court of Appeal ruled Victoria had exceeded its powers because its bylaw was essentially an environmental regulation, within provincial jurisdiction and thus requiring provincial approval. Since that time, no further checkout bag bylaws have been adopted.
Two recent announcements have changed the context for single use plastic regulation. First, on September 12, 2020, the provincial government announced that they have approved the City of Victoria draft bylaw, along with those submitted for provincial approval from Saanich, Richmond, Ucluelet, and Tofino. The provincial government has also announced that they will review and potentially approve any such bylaw sent to them by local governments.
In addition, the federal government announced on October 7, 2020, that they will introduce bans on six single use plastic items including plastic checkout bags. The federal government plans to conduct public consultation until December 9, 2020 and expects to finalize regulations by the end of 2021 (Appendix A).
In order to obtain provincial approval for the Township’s checkout bag regulation bylaw, the draft bylaw needs to be amended. The attached copy of the draft bylaw as amended (Appendix B) includes space to indicate that the bylaw has the approval of the Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy. The effective date and date for transition provisions have also been changed from a specific date to the elapse of a time period referenced to the date of the adoption of the bylaw.
ISSUES:
1. Rationale for Selected Option
Sending the bylaw to the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy for approval is the most expedient route to enacting this regulation. Several other local governments have already successfully received approval from the Ministry for their checkout bag bylaws using this process. Although the province has declared that they are proposing a new regulation in alignment with the Community Charter that would allow municipalities to ban single use plastics without requiring provincial approval, there is no timeline for when this regulation would take effect. Federal regulations may also be dependent on the outcome of public engagement and potential legal challenges.
The Provincial Health Officer originally advised grocery stores to provide clean single-use bags to customers; this guidance was altered on April 25, 2019, when grocery stores were no longer required to ban reusable bags. The current guidance notes to “Post signs at each check-out indicating that the customer’s own bags are not to be placed on checkout counters”.
2. Organizational Implications
Upon adoption of the bylaw, staff will resume the original measures proposed to contact all retail businesses and assist them with understanding the new regulations, provide them with printed materials for customer service areas and arrange for communication about the bylaw to the general public.
3. Financial Implications
Funds have already been allocated within the 2020 budget to prepare materials for retailers and to advertise the new regulation.
4. Sustainability & Environmental Implications
The purpose of the proposed bylaw is to reduce waste and litter and normalize the use of reusable bags in the municipality. The bag fees in the bylaw will ensure that reduction in the use of plastic checkout bags does not cause a significant increase in the use of paper bags or an excessive use of reusable bags, both of which also have environmental impacts associated with their production and end-of-life disposal.
5. Communication & Engagement
Upon adoption of the bylaw staff would communicate with residents and retailers in order to ensure that impacted businesses have the resources they need to implement the bylaw and that the public is aware of any impending changes. Engagement techniques that are proposed include newspaper ads, business notification and toolkits, social media ads and website updates.
ALTERNATIVES:
1. That Council resolves to rescind third reading of Checkout Bag Regulation Bylaw, 2019, No. 2953, attached as Appendix B to Staff Report DEV-20-067, amend and read anew a third time; and further,
That Council authorize the Corporate Officer to submit the bylaw as amended, to the Minister of the Environment for Provincial approval prior to returning the bylaw to Council for consideration of adoption.
2. That Council provide alternative direction to staff.