Letter to the Editor: RMWB must keep bag ban bylaw

Letter to the editor
Jul 16, 2020  •  November 27, 2020  •  2 minute read
Items are carried out in plastic bags at Joly's Your Independent Grocer in Fort McMurray on Thursday, July 2, 2020. Laura Beamish/Fort McMurray Today/Postmedia Network
Items are carried out in plastic bags at Joly's Your Independent Grocer in Fort McMurray on Thursday, July 2, 2020. Laura Beamish/Fort McMurray Today/Postmedia Network jpg, FM

Re: Allen proposes re-examining bag ban after RMWB suspended bylaw in March, July 7

In response to the pandemic, council approved a temporary suspension of the Single-Use Shopping Bag Bylaw (SUSBB). When the pandemic reached Alberta, many grocery chains also shifted away from re-usable bags, but they are already welcoming them back into their stores.

Councillor Mike Allen isn’t so keen to end the move away from re-usable bags. Instead of focussing his attention on the health and economic crises being faced by Wood Buffalo, he is trying to figure out how to use the pandemic as an excuse to repeal the SUSBB.

This isn’t surprising, as Allen has tried to derail the bylaw at every turn.

For instance, Allen secured an amendment just before council gave final approval of the SUSBB that required it to be reviewed after its first year of implementation.

When the review showed a reduction of waste generated in the community and clear majority support for the policy, Allen and his crew of disproportionately vocal opponents to the SUSBB didn’t get the opportunity to repeal it they thought they would.

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Given the clear endorsement of the bylaw from the community, I thought this would be the end of the debate.

However, since the SUSBB was implemented 10 years ago, it has been an issue in every single municipal race. And every time, the response from the community has been to leave the bylaw alone and move on.

This has been disappointing to watch, as I proposed the SUSBB in the hope that it would be the first of many steps towards greater sustainability. Unfortunately, Allen has never managed to grasp this bigger picture.

Indeed, he is quoted in the Today article as trying to frame the SUSBB as a policy about litter. Allen tried the same tactic a decade ago as a way to dismiss the bylaw, despite myself and others making it clear that it was a matter of sustainability, not aesthetics.

COVID-19 hasn’t in any way reduced the need for us to improve the sustainability of our communities. If anything, it has helped emphasize why this is so important.

Wood Buffalo showed leadership on this issue when it adopted the SUSBB. It would be a mistake to let Allen drag the community backwards.

Sean Graham

NOTE: The Fort McMurray Today welcomes letters to the editor, but will not publish anything that is potentially libelous or hateful. Letters may be edited for space, grammar and clarity before they can be published online and in print. Please keep letters to a maximum of 350 words, although shorter letters are preferred. Letters can be sent to Vincent McDermott at vmcdermott@postmedia.com