An Ontario MP is proposing a new law that would ban plastic shopping bags across the country.

London-Fanshawe New Democrat Irene Mathyssen said many Canadians have already switched to reusable bags or leftover shipping boxes made from recyclable cardboard.

San Francisco and the Manitoba community of Leaf Rapids trashed the plastic bag three years ago. Parts of India banned the manufacture, sale and use of all plastic bags, saying they choke drainage systems during monsoon season.

Toronto has imposed a five-cent charge per bag, and many clothing stores have since cut out plastic in favour of paper bags.

Mathyssen will introduce her private member's bill Monday.

Many CBC News.ca community members weren't convinced this proposed ban would curb the use of plastic bags.

"If they ban them I will just have to buy them to put the garbage in," iceroadman wrote. "I don't suppose the garbage collector will be too thrilled if I just put everything loose into the garbage can for collection, including the dog turds."

EllieS1 believes that plastic packaging is more of a concern than the bags. "Food like bread, vegetables, etc., are packaged in plastic. Socks, underwear, the list goes on. To ban plastic shopping bags is like banning the sale of lighters and hoping people will quit smoking."

However, some commenters argued that any small step toward protecting the environment should be considered a positive.

"Each journey begins with a single step," lanieanne wrote. Yes, ban plastic bags. Then we will go from there. We all know that we generate far too much garbage. We all know that plastic does not degrade for generations. So, get rid of it. We'll manage. We'll gripe, but we'll manage."

Read more.
- With files from The Canadian Press

Do you support a ban on plastic bags? Do you think it's possible people could stop using plastic bags entirely, or are we too dependent on them?