WEDNESDAY,MARCH11,2020 | THEGLOBEANDMAILO NEWS | A
The federalgovernment intends to desig-
nate plastics as toxic substances, a move in-
dustry stakeholders say is unduly aggres-
sive and detrimental to the sector’s brand.
Listing plastics as toxic under Schedule 1
of the Canadian Environmental Protection
Act (CEPA) willprovide thegovernment
with the authority to regulate and limit cer-
tain products. The Liberals campaigned
during the fall election on a promise to ban
some single-use plastics as early as 2021, as
part of a national strategy to reduce waste
and pollution. In a minority Parliament, it
is considered more expedient for the gov-
ernment to use the existing act than to cur-
ry multiparty support for new legislation
regulating plastics.
In an e-mail, Environment and Climate
Change Canada signalled that thegovern-
ment will, indeed, designate plastics as tox-
ic. “In order to take concrete regulatory ac-
tion to reduce plastic waste and pollution
under CEPA, substances must first be add-
ed to Schedule 1,” the department said in an
e-mail.
Bob Masterson, the president and chief
executive of the Chemistry Industry Asso-
ciation of Canada, said he is disappointed
the government is poised to go that route.
Over the past several months, the associ-
ation, whose members include petrochem-
ical companies that produce plastics, has
been urging federal officials to instead
amend CEPA’s pollution-prevention provi-
sions or introduce standalone legislation.
“We’re uncomfortable with the notion
that products that are used every day to
keep food safe and sanitary, are going to be
declared toxic,” he said. “We understand
that it’s just a designation for rulemaking,
but it will be used as a reason by some cam-
paigners to encourage people to stop using
plastics.”
The association is registered to lobby the
government with the goal of ensuring “the
ban on single-use plastics does not nega-
tively impact the chemistry or plastics in-
dustry,” the federal registry shows. Several
environmental groups, consumer associ-
ations and major petrochemical compa-
nies are also registered to lobby on the is-
sue.
Toxic substances are defined under
CEPA as those that cause, or may cause, im-
mediate or long-term harm to the environ-
ment, biological diversity or human
health. Substances already on the list in-
clude: greenhouse gases, such as carbon
dioxide and methane; mercury; asbestos;
lead; formaldehyde; and bisphenol A
(BPA), a synthetic chemical used in some
plastics. The Liberals added microbeads –
the tiny plastic particles found in some fa-
cial and body exfoliants – to the list in 2016.
Virtually all plastics produced globally
are made from fossil fuels. Most plastics in
Canada come from ethane, a component of
natural gas. Alberta’s associate minister of
natural gas, Dale Nally, said Ottawa is ex-
hibiting a “knee-jerk reaction” to the chal-
lenges caused by the growing use of plas-
tics. “Single-use plastic is not the problem –
waste is the problem,” he said in a recent in-
terview, adding that technological innova-
tions will enable petrochemical companies
to transform plastic waste into feedstock
for their next production cycle.
Earlier this year,the federal government
released a draft state-of-the-science assess-
ment on plastic pollution, which says that
macroplastics with particles greater than
five millimetres cause harm to the environ-
ment. The effects of microplastics were
found to be less clear and sometimes con-
tradictory.
The final version of the report, whichwill be released some time after public con-
sultations on the draft close on April 1, will
provide thegovernment with the scientific
basis to regulate plastics. The Liberals’ na-
tional strategy is expected to include stan-
dards that ensure some products comprise
a certain percentage of recycled content, as
well as a move toward waste programs that
require manufacturers and sellers to fund
the collection and recycling of the plastic
they put into the market.
Environmental Defence Canada is
among the advocacy organizations that for
months have urgedthe government to
deem plastics toxic. In a report slated for re-
lease on Wednesday, the group recom-
mended that Ottawa include plastics in
Schedule 1 as a precursor to a ban on specif-
ic polymers (such as polystyrene, which is
used to make Styrofoam) and certain sin-
gle-use items (such as cutlery and light-
weight plastic bags).
Sarah King, who heads Greenpeace Can-
ada’s plastics campaign, said she had ex-
pected the Liberals to use Schedule 1 be-
cause that is how they approached the ban
on microbeads. The evidence to support
the tactic, she said, is clear. “We need to
move away from our reliance on fossil
fuels, regardless of what format they’re in,”
she said. “We’re in a climate crisis. We’re in a
plastic pollution crisis. We’re in an oceans
crisis. We’re in a biodiversity crisis.”
Mr. Masterson said he fears that declar-
ing plastics as toxic could drive away in-
vestment at a time when the United States
is already doing a far better job of attracting
new petrochemical projects and expan-
sions. Thegovernment, he said, must sig-
nal that it supports the industry’s growth
and transition to a circular economy, in
which materials are kept in use beyond
their typical end of life.WithareportfromEmmaGraneyinCalgaryPlasticsareseenbeinggatheredforrecyclingatadepotinNorthVancouver,B.C.,lastyear.ThefederalLiberalscampaignedduringthefall
electiononapromisetobansomesingle-useplasticsasearlyas2021.JONATHANHAYWARD/THECANADIANPRESS
Ottawasettodeclareplasticsastoxic
substancestoregulatesomeproducts
KATHRYNBLAZEBAUM
ENVIRONMENTREPORTER
OTTAWAThe vice-president of
the Métis National Council is
stepping up his rhetoric against
three provincial Métis leaders,
accusing them of striking a
“backroom deal” that allows
new members into the nation
he says he believes are not
Métis.
The escalation is on the eve
of a major meeting among
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau,
provincial premiers and nation-
al Indigenous leaders, where
David Chartrand is to represent
the Métis National Council as
its national spokesperson.
Two separate gatherings are
being held this week among
Métis members, before the first
ministers convene in Ottawa
starting Thursday, and their
divergent objectives highlight a
growing rift between the lead-
ership of the Métis National
Council and the Métis leaders
of Ontario, Alberta and Sas-
katchewan.
The leaders of the Métis
Nation of Ontario, Métis Na-
tion-Saskatchewan and the
Métis Nation of Alberta say
they do not want to be pulled
into “distractions” from the
work they are trying to do. In
interviews, they said they want
to continue progress they have
made in gaining recognition
and self-government rights
from the federal government.
But meanwhile, Mr. Char-
trand began a two-day forum
on citizenship and identity in
Saskatchewan Monday, with
sessions on “Métis identity
theft and cultural appropriation
in Ontario and Eastern Canada”
and a “third invasion” of alleg-
edly non-Métis people trying to
gain official citizenship in the
Métis Nation.
He said there is a lot of
concern among those living on
the Prairies about the way
Ontario defines its members as
Métis after an announcement
in 2017 that six new Métis
communities had been identi-
fied in the province.
The Manitoba Métis Feder-
ation, of which Mr. Chartrand is
also president, commissioned a
study of these new communi-
ties and Mr. Chartrand said
Monday the findings suggest
the residents are Algonquin
and Ojibwe.
“They are attempting to be
in both worlds and trying to
say they’re Métis. ... They’re
not us, they’re not connected
to us,” Mr. Chartrand said.
In November, 2018, Mr. Char-
trand brought these concerns
about Ontario’s membership
registry to a general assembly
and a resolution was passed
placing Ontario’s Métis group
on probation and calling for an
external committee to review
its membership registry. But
the Ontario nation has refused
to allow it, citing privacy con-
cerns.THE CANADIAN PRESSRIFTBETWEENMÉTIS
LEADERSWIDENSAHEAD
OFMEETINGSWITH
PREMIERS,TRUDEAU