City of Victoria wins court battle over right to ban plastic bags

Victoria has won a court battle over its right to ban plastic bags,meaning the bylaw approved last winter has the green light to roll out next month.

The Canadian Plastic Bag Association (CPBA)challenged the bylaw in B.C. Supreme Court in January, saying the city didn't have the authority to enact the ban.

On Tuesday, the court rejected that challenge.

Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps called it a win that could have an impact beyond city borders.

"Today, we've been given permission by the courts to manage waste in a sustainable way and I think that's a good thing," she said.

Bylaw's approval

The bylaw, approvedlast December,prohibits grocery stores from offering or selling plastic bags to shoppers, although stores can still offer paper bags or reusable bags for a costifcustomers ask.

The CPBAclaimed councillorsactedoutside theirjurisdictionbecause B.C.cities don't have the authority to regulate the environment that's something that falls to the province.

But in his ruling, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Nathan Smith said the plastic bag bylaw works because cities have the power toregulate business transactions in this case, giving a bag to a customer to carry goods they've purchased.

Smith said the bylaw also falls under acity's responsibility to manage waste howeverit can.

"This bylaw is basically those two things hand-in-hand," Helps said.

Other cities watching

The mayor said the decision could have big implications for other jurisdictions who've been keeping an eye out for anoutcome, as they considerbans of their own.

"This isn't just a victory for the City of Victoria, it's a victory for cities, because cities do have very limited powers," Helps said.

Tuesday's ruling comes as Helps travels to Montreal to speak at a global sustainability conference around what cities can do and are doing to take climate action.

"It'll be nicetomorrow morning on my panel to be able to talk about this decision," she said.

With the challenge cleared, Victoria's ban will comeinto effect as planned on July 1.

Non-conforming businessescould face fines from $100 up to $10,000 by 2019.

Last year, the city saidVictoria residents used17million plastic bags annually. It also said the bags account formore than 15 per cent of landfill waste.

With files from Rhianna Schmunk

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