Steven Guilbeault, Canada’s environment minister, said the government was “strongly considering” an appeal of the federal court’s ruling.
By Vjosa Isai • New York Times
Steven Guilbeault, Canada’s environment minister, said the government was “strongly considering” an appeal of the federal court’s ruling.
By Vjosa Isai • New York Times
You can agree with the premise from a biological and chemistry standpoint while disagreeing with a policy from a legal one.
The feds will simply need to redraft the legislation and word it better.
Or pass new legislation. The government tried to use existing environment legislation to ban single use plastics by listing them among other toxic substances. That that didn’t pass judicial review isn’t actually that surprising (depending on how the original law was drafted).
The alternative is just to amend that law to add additional powers to ban bioaccumulating and/or biomagnifying substances, of which microplastics are just one example.
It’s just more work, obviously, than using an existing legislative tool.
Hopefully. The trick is that waste management is traditionally provincial jurisdiction, and there would be a fight if they try to change that.