Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today I’d like to talk about the GNWT’s Waste Reduction and Recovery Program expansion. This program has been part of Managing This Land Strategic Initiative to meet the 16th Assembly’s goals on sustainable environment. This is a program I support.
One month ago the government implemented the second phase of its Single-Use Retail Bag Program. This program applies not only to grocery stores but also to all retail stores in the Northwest Territories. Therefore, outside of a few prescribed examples, every bag will now be charged a 25 cent environmental fee.
The purpose of this program is very clear: it’s designed to discourage the use of needless bags. I support that principle. It makes a lot of sense. Clearly it will divert plastic bags from our landfill sites and reduce litter and waste on our land. Clearly it’s a good principle that I think we all stand behind. With this good principle, we should hope that this will reduce landfill costs and create revenue which will help bolster the GNWT’s Environmental Fund. It’s a fund I support that has good initiatives.
I’m hopeful that this summer, as well, we’ll certainly see a reduction of plastic bags flying around our community and certainly stuck in the trees and bushes. A side benefit that’s not accounted for, but will certainly be seen.
While these are well and good intentions for this program, I’m being asked by many why this levy applies to paper bags. This is a surprise to many of my constituents out there who were concerned that the 25 cent levy is applied to paper bags. Paper bags are both recyclable and biodegradable. Anyone who has a woodstove out there will certainly tell you they’re great for starting fires. What is the point of having a levy on such a product that is recyclable and biodegradable? The big question now becomes, is it just simply a bag tax or is it an environmental fee.
These products are going just a little too far for what people are wondering why the government penalizes them on what is considered a good bag.
Mr. Speaker, I will have questions for the Minister of Environment about the thoughts as to why they approached this matter in this way. Paper bags are environmentally friendly, they are biodegradable, and they’re certainly achieving good land stewardship, which I wholeheartedly believe in. Thank you.
