"Toronto has become the first major city in Canada to ban plastic shopping bags in a surprise city council vote that the mayor denounced as 'ludicrous.'"
"Mayor Rob Ford, who predicted the ban will face a legal challenge, had asked city council to scrap Toronto’s contentious five-cent levy for plastic shopping bags. Council supported the mayor and voted to scrap the tax – but then also agreed with a last-minute motion to ban bags outright, beginning Jan. 1.
“It is not a smart move by council to ban plastic bags,” Mr. Ford said after vote. “I don’t think it is going to hold up in court. You can’t tell people they can’t give out plastic bags. To me it’s ludicrous.”
Marion Axmith, a spokeswoman for the Canadian Plastics Industry Association, warned that the move would kill jobs in Toronto and said the industry would consider all its options."
Elizabeth Church and Kelly Grant report for the Toronto Globe and Mail June 6, 2012.
SEE ALSO:
"Toronto Bans Plastic Bags by the Start of 2013" (Toronto Sun)
"Toronto Council Votes To Ban Plastic Bags" (Canadian Press)
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