Trudeau Turns His Back on Canadian Workers

TORONTO, Feb. 25, 2022 - Plastics manufacturers - who have been told by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that their products, jobs and investment are no longer wanted in Canada - are appealing to the provincial Premiers to save their businesses and employees.

Some 370,000 Canadians depend on a vibrant plastics industry for their pay cheques. The livelihoods of these individuals and their families are now threatened by Trudeau's arbitrary and unilateral decision to declare all plastics "toxic" and therefore subject to bans.

"It is hard to imagine such autocratic powers being used in Canada, but here we are," said Joe Hruska, of the Canada Coalition of Plastic Producers. "By a stroke of the pen, the Prime Minister has given himself the authority to prohibit the manufacture and sale of any plastic product he wishes. There was no vote in Parliament; there was no such mandate given to him by the electorate."

The bans being proposed by Ottawa will cost an estimated 60,000 direct and indirect jobs (Source: Hearings before the federal Standing Committee on the Environment and Sustainability ) As other products are added to the list, further layoffs in the industry will occur adding to Canada's job losses.

Hundreds of thousands of items are made from or composed of plastics, including medical supplies, food packaging, PPE, clothing, and automobile and aerospace components. All of these products are now deemed "toxic".

Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia are among the largest plastics manufacturing centres in North America, and Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba supply the petrochemicals used in the production of these items. Trudeau's bans will kill off jobs and damage the economies of these provinces.

And because the bans will extend to imports as well, Trudeau's move will likely result in retaliatory tariffs and other barriers being imposed by our trading partners. This will spiral into further job losses and rising prices in our domestic market.

Canada is already hemorrhaging jobs. A National Bank of Canada analysis shows that 200,000 jobs were lost in January of this year, while employment increased by 467,000 in the U.S..(Source: Weekly Economic Watch National Bank of Canada ).

"Why would Trudeau want to decimate an industry that has consistently been one of Canada's top performers in terms of employment, investment and innovation?" Hruska asked. "It just doesn't make any sense."

At a Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development in April 2020, Sonya Savage, Alberta Minister of Energy, testified that Ontario, Quebec, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba had signed a joint letter expressing their unwillingness to comply with the new federal regulations.

For years, the provinces have been working with the plastics industry in establishing recycling programs and moving to zero waste. The success of these efforts is reflected in the fact that plastics now account for only less than 1 per cent of pollution (Source: Economic Study of the Canadian Plastic Industry, Markets and Waste )

"The provinces must make it very clear that this is an area of provincial jurisdiction and stand up for their citizen's jobs and their economies that will be harmed by Trudeau's actions," said Hruska.

SOURCE Canada Coalition of Plastic Producers