The Federal Court has rejected a cabinet order that classified plastic manufactured items (PMI) as toxic. The judge described the order as “unreasonable and unconstitutional.”
On Nov. 16, Justice Angela Furlanetto ruled that the categorization of PMI is too broad for a blanket toxicity label under federal law. “There is no reasonable apprehension that all listed PMI are harmful,” she wrote.
The case was initiated by the Responsible Plastics Use Coalition, a non-profit corporation representing companies in the plastic industry operating in Canada. Companies such as Dow Chemical, Imperial Oil, and Nova Chemicals, among others, contended that Ottawa did not adequately demonstrate sufficient scientific evidence to justify the proposed regulations.The federal cabinet is seeking to label “plastic manufactured items” as toxic under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act. In an Aug. 1 statement, Minister of Environment Steven Guilbeault declared a commitment to “zero plastic waste” to address climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution. The measure seeks to compel grocery retailers to reduce food plastic packaging.
