Ottawa to Appeal Federal Court’s ‘Unconstitutional’ Ruling Related to Single-Use Plastics Ban

The Federal Court had ruled cabinet’s assertion that all plastic-manufactured items are toxic was ‘unreasonable and unconstitutional.’

Minister of Environment and Climate Change Steven Guilbeault speaks during media availability at the Climate Positive Energy Initiative conference in Toronto on Aug.10, 2023. Arlyn McAdorey/The Canadian Press

Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault says Ottawa will appeal a decision by the Federal Court that ruled the government’s listing of manufactured plastics as “toxic” was unconstitutional. The listing was a key step by the feds to ban some types of single-use plastic products, such as straws and shopping bags.

“We intend to appeal the ruling,” Mr. Guilbeault told reporters on Nov. 20. “The body of scientific evidence showing the impacts on human health, on the environment of plastic pollution, is undebatable. And the Canadian public has been asking us to do this.”