Canadian Plastic Bag Association v. Victoria (City)

Canadian Plastic Bag Association v. Victoria (City), 2019 BCCA 254, 435 D.L.R. (4th) 488, application for leave to appeal ref’d (23 Jan 2020), File No. 38828 (S.C.C.). Counsel recently represented the appellant in its successful challenge to the City of Victoria’s bylaw banning businesses from selling or providing customers with single-use plastic bags.

The City of Victoria argued that it had validly adopted the bylaw under its power to regulate business, not under its power to protect the natural environment, and it therefore did not need the prior approval of the responsible Minister. The Court of Appeal disagreed, allowed the appeal, and quashed the bylaw. Under the Community Charter, where a municipality seeks to adopt a bylaw, the dominant purpose of which is to protect the natural environment, the municipality must first obtain the approval of the Minister of the Environment (or satisfy one of the other conditions under s. 9(3) of the Community Charter).