Calgary Council Votes to Repeal Single-Use Items Bylaw in Response to Public Pushback

Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek speaks to the media after being sworn-in as the new mayor in Calgary, Alta., on Oct. 25, 2021. Jeff McIntosh /The Canadian Press

Calgary City Council has voted to repeal its single-use items bylaw just two weeks after it went into effect in response to “overwhelming” public criticism.

The single-use bylaw came into effect Jan. 16, setting a 15-cent fee for paper bags and requiring restaurants, cafes, and drive-thrus to ask customers if they want single-use items like cutlery and napkins.

In a 10–5 vote on Jan. 30, the council backed a motion by Coun. Jennifer Wyness to hold a public hearing to consider repealing the bylaw. The move came after hours of discussion and proposed amendments from other councillors.

The motion calls for a new plan and report to be submitted to the council by March 31, but the bylaw will remain in effect until a public hearing is held to discuss its repeal. City officials estimated the single-use items rules and fees are likely to remain in place until at least May.

Councillors Gian-Carlo Carra, Jasmine Mian, Kourtney Penner, Courtney Walcott, and Mayor Jyoti Gondek all voted against the motion.

Call for Change

The single-use bylaw has been heavily criticized since it went into effect on Jan. 16, according to some city councillors who say they’ve been inundated with emails regarding the issue.

Coun. Dan McLean, a vocal opponent of the bylaw, said prior to the meeting that he would “like to see it gone or drastically changed.”

“People don’t like it—an overwhelming majority of people,” Mr. McLean said during the meeting, adding that it seemed to be even “more unpopular than tax hikes.”

Coun. Andre Chabot agreed that public feedback has been largely negative. He said the city lacks the proper tools to measure how much “waste is actually being diverted.”

“Show me how this is actually going to result in a positive outcome and I’d actually consider supporting it,” he said.

Coun. Sonya Sharp described the current bylaw as “confusing.” She said the city didn’t consult the local business community thoroughly enough before implementing the rule.

The mayor had a different take on the issue, however.

“Components of this bylaw … were actually pretty good,” Ms. Gondek said, pointing to small businesses no longer having to shell out extra money to provide bags to customers.

“There was another amendment in place that really spoke to what we’ve been hearing from Calgarians and it was going to exempt drive-thru and walk-up bags,” she added. “We never got to hear that one because the repeal motion won.”

Under the current rules, businesses are required to charge 15 cents to customers who want a paper shopping bag, and that cost was set to go up to 25 cents in January 2025. Reusable shopping bags cost $1 for customers and will increase to $2 in January 2025, according to the bylaw.

Edmonton has a similar bylaw that came into force on July 1, 2023, with the goal of reducing litter. “The goal is to reduce single-use items, not to switch from plastic items to non-plastic items,” the City of Edmonton website says.

Premier Danielle Smith, who has been vocal about the cities reconsidering the bylaws, celebrated council voting to potentially repeal the bylaw.

“Calgary is one step closer to getting free napkins, cutlery, condiments, and bags back … next, plastic straws!” she said in a Jan. 30 social media post on X, formerly Twitter, that accompanied a picture of her drinking from a pop can with a straw.

She also posted an unofficial poll on X on Jan. 27  for people to vote for or against the bylaws in Calgary and Edmonton. The results revealed that 87.2 percent of respondents did not support the new single-use rules.

“Whether it’s banning plastics straws or forcing businesses to charge for bags and utensils, perhaps our cities should reconsider such bylaws. ... I think most folks would really appreciate it,” she added in a Jan. 26 post on X.

Federal Ban on Plastics

Banning single-use items and plastics isn’t just on Calgary’s radar. The federal government announced plans earlier this month for a national registry that would require companies to report their plastic production in a bid to reach the federal government’s goal of zero plastic waste by 2030.

The proposed registry would enable the government to track its progress toward reducing waste by collecting and reporting data on a wide range of plastics, the news release said. Single-use and disposable items as well as plastics used in packaging will be monitored. Also on the list are the plastics used in home appliances, electronics, construction, transportation, tires, textiles, fishing and aquaculture, and agriculture and horticulture.

As part of this objective, Ottawa in 2022 banned the manufacture and import of single-use plastics—including checkout bags, stir sticks, straws, cutlery, and foodservice ware.

However, the government’s plan has had more than a few stumbling blocks over the past year.

The Federal Court of Canada ruled on Nov. 16 that Ottawa’s order classifying manufactured plastic items as “toxic” was “unreasonable” and “unconstitutional.” The court further said the order was unconstitutional because it exceeded Ottawa’s ability to make criminal law.

Mr. Guilbeault announced on Nov. 20 that the government would appeal the ruling.

It’s a move that Alberta’s premier has vowed to fight.

Ms. Smith says by appealing the decision, Ottawa is “ignoring” both the law and “reality” and that her government will intervene in the appeal in order to defend the province’s constitutional jurisdiction and economy.

Mr. Guilbeault, however, maintains that the government is following the directive of Canadians.

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

He told reporters in August that Canadians are “tired of seeing plastic pollution in their neighbourhood and in our streets, in our environment, clogging our waterways, polluting our oceans.”

Chandra Philip contributed to this report.