Canada’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, announced that the Government is taking additional steps to reduce Canada’s plastic waste, support innovation, and promote the use of affordable and safe alternatives.
Namely, after collaboration with governments and businesses across Canada, the Government of Canada will:
- Ban harmful single-use plastics as early as 2021 (such as plastic bags, straws, cutlery, plates, and stir sticks) where supported by scientific evidence and warranted, and take other steps to reduce pollution from plastic products and packaging;
- Work with provinces and territories to introduce standards and targets for companies that manufacture plastic products or sell items with plastic packaging so they become responsible for their plastic waste.
[smlsubform prepend=”GET THE SAFETY4SEA IN YOUR INBOX!” showname=false emailtxt=”” emailholder=”Enter your email address” showsubmit=true submittxt=”Submit” jsthanks=false thankyou=”Thank you for subscribing to our mailing list”]
These measures will be based in scientific evidence and will align with similar actions being taken in the EU and other countries. They will also support the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment’s development of an action plan to implement the Canada-wide Strategy on Zero Plastic Waste.
From launching the Ocean Plastics Charter at the 2018 G7 Summit to investing in new Canadian technologies that turn plastic waste into valuable resources, Canada is looking for new ways to tackle the plastics problem.
In fact, by improving plastic waste management and investing in innovative solutions, Canada aspires to reduce 1.8 million tonnes of carbon pollution, generate billions of dollars in revenue, and create around 42,000 jobs.
The health of our oceans is vital to the economic, cultural, and social well-being of Canada’s coastal communities. We know plastic pollution harms Canada’s oceans, wildlife, communities—and our economy. It’s a problem we simply can’t afford to ignore. We are working with industry to prevent and remove ghost fishing gear, to protect marine animals and the marine environment now and for future generations
Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, noted.
