Image Credit: ADOBE STOCK

NORTH OKANAGAN - The Regional District North Okanagan has given the green light to its proposed single-use-plastic bag ban, but it will now have to wait for the province's approval before it can make the final decision and introduce a ban.

The Regional District board of directors unanimously passed the second and third reading of the single-use plastic bag bylaw at yesterday's, July 17, meeting.

Ordinarily, the next step would have been to for the board to adopt the bylaw, but a recent Court of Appeal decision quashing the City of Victoria's plastic bag ban means the bylaw will have to be approved by the Ministry of Environment before it can come into place.

"We reviewed the court ruling and learned that there is a need to seek provincial approval in the process, so we are going to do just that," board chair Kevin Acton said in a media release. "We have to send many of our bylaws to the Inspector of Municipalities, so it’s not unlike a regular practice of ours."

However, whether the Ministry of Environment will approve a bylaw allowing municipalities to ban single-use plastic bags is not yet known.

In an email to iNFOnews.ca, the Ministry of Environment said it was "currently reviewing all aspects" of the Court of Appeal decision that overruled Victoria's plastic bag ban. The ministry said there were authorities under the Community Charter that would allow the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy to "consider such a bylaw."

"British Columbians are concerned about plastic waste in our environment and want action. To that end, the Province is currently looking at ways to prevent plastic waste in our environment at a province-wide level," the Ministry said.

The Regional District said in the release having the ban in effect by January 2020 as originally proposed may not be possible now. The province didn't say how long it would take to finalize a decision on the matter.

"In the meantime, we absolutely encourage people to bring their own reusable bags shopping with them voluntarily. While a bylaw may not be in effect, it’s a good idea to start building good habits," Acton said.

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