February 20, 2019
ONTARIO, CANADA -- Today, NDP MP Nathan Cullen tabled a private members bill requiring all plastic packaging to be either recyclable or compostable within one year of the bill receiving royal assent.
The decision was met with an increased call to action by SumOfUs, an international consumer group with over 300,000 members in Canada, and includes a 16,000 signature petition, urging Environment Minister Catherine McKenna to table comprehensive plastics legislation based on Motion M-151, which was unanimously passed in Parliament last December.
VIEW THE PETITION HERE: https://actions.sumofus.org/a/it-s-time-for-comprehensive-anti-plastics-law-in-canada
In response to Mr. Cullen’s announcement, Amelia Meister, Campaign Consultant with SumOfUs, responded to released the following statement:
“This legislation is a great step towards tackling the global plastics crisis. However, it does not go far enough. We need real leadership from the government now to introduce comprehensive plastics legislation based on the recommendations in M-151, which the Minister herself voted in favour of.”
“Corporations like Nestle, Coca-Cola and Tim Hortons are responsible for much of the plastic waste ending up on Canadian shores. We are not seeing timely corporate leadership on plastics so we need the government to step up and ensure that single-use plastics are not ending up on our shores.”
“We know that people in Canada want real action on the plastics crisis. Over 171,000 Canadians from coast to coast to coast have signed our petition in support of the comprehensive plastics framework proposed in Motion M-151. Though Mr. Cullen’s legislation tabled today is an important first step, before the Federal election in October, Canadians across the country urge all major parties and the current government to take real leadership on plastics.”
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SumOfUs.org is a global movement of consumers, investors, and workers all around the world, standing together to hold corporations accountable for their actions and forge a new, sustainable and just path for our global economy.