Calgary’s single-use items bylaw will go through a repeal process, with councillors citing inconvenience and confusion as the primary drivers behind the move.
The item came forward from Ward 2 Coun. Jennifer Wyness, and was approved 10-5 at Calgary city council. It was tacked on as an amendment to an admin update on the first two weeks of the bylaw.
Coun. Wyness said she believed that this is another situation where Calgary city council wasn’t listening to citizens. She and other councillors have said they’ve received “hundreds” of emails in opposition. The bylaw, though approved a year ago, went into effect Jan. 16, 2024.
“We’re not listening,” she said.
“Calgarians have spoken up and this council is demonstrating yet again, how we say that is not a concern to us that, oh it’s just 15 cents yet, There is a concern out there and I think we need to start showing that we hear Calgarians.”
The bylaw will remain in place until the repeal motion can be advertised, plus a public hearing, debate and vote held. There will be a cost in terms of admin time and for additional public engagement on the repeal. Admin said that a public hearing would likely happen sometime in May.
Wyness said that’s the unfortunate part of the process, but this now gives Calgary city councillors – and the public – time to more fully weigh in on a bylaw, she said.
“At least we can demonstrate to Calgarians that we heard you and we are taking the steps so that this bylaw is just not left in play,” she said.
The initial bylaw had been in process over the past year, with both council and public conversation on the topics. Wyness said that when the bylaw was initially reported, there was confusion over it being reported as single-use plastics. That’s why she said discussion on it may not have been as robust.
Amending the bylaw versus scrapping it
Ward 3 Coun. Jasmine Mian had prepared an amendment that would have seen an exemption for drive-thru windows and walk-ups to restaurants.
Mian said that’s where she’s heard the vast majority of concerns from Calgarians. To that end, Coun. Mian wanted to see amendments to the current bylaw brought forward, rather than removing the entire thing.
“I think exempting the fee and drive-thru could go a long way in terms of quelling some of these concerns and yes, we would then end up giving up a million bags per week in drive-thru,” she said.
“But there’s a huge delta between a million bags per week and 15 million single-use items. So, let’s not throw the baby out with the bathwater.
Ward 1 Coun. Sonya Sharp said going this route allows city council to start with a clean slate.
“I think we all have our intentions here to make sure that we do deliver a greener Calgary, just not inconveniencing Calgarians with costs elsewhere,” she said.
Sharp acknowledged there would be admin time spent doing further public engagement and advertisement and preparation for a report due in March on a potential reporting structure for the program.
Should another bylaw be sought, they would have to go through the process of creating it, advertising it, and doing public engagement, holding a public hearing, debate and another vote. Sharp said she didn’t have any costs for that in front of her.
Other councillors suggested the repeal process, along with a new bylaw, could cost as much as $300,000.
Mayor Gondek said that it might be a bit confusing for Calgarians as the single-use items bylaw will remain in place until it’s repealed, which could be late spring.
“There was components of this bylaw that were actually pretty good,” the mayor said.
“There was things in this bylaw, that were really going to help small businesses, small businesses who were represented by BIAs this morning who said ‘we really appreciate that they’re able to recoup some cost and make customers think about whether they need a bag that, you know, as a small business, they shouldn’t have to take on the cost for.
“We instead of understanding what was good and keeping it, we just threw the whole thing away today.”
