Good afternoon, Madam Chair.
I wish to extend my greetings to the members of the committee. Thank you for inviting me to participate in this study.
My name is Anthony Merante. I am the senior plastics campaigner at Oceana Canada.
It is part of the world's largest international advocacy organization dedicated solely to ocean conservation.
I'm here today to urge this committee to recommend that the federal government delay rather than repeal the prohibition on the manufacture, import and sale of targeted single-use plastics for the purpose of export. Specifically, Oceana Canada recommends extending the coming into force date from 2025 to 2029.
Plastic pollution is a global crisis—and it does not respect national borders.
Once plastic enters the environment, particularly the ocean, it moves. Plastic spreads across currents and coastlines far removed from the country of origin. Once in the ocean, plastic pollution wreaks havoc on marine wildlife. Single-use plastics have been found in the stomachs of whales, around the necks of seabirds and contaminating wild-caught fish. This means our domestic regulatory choices have direct consequences for other nations' environments, marine ecosystems and communities. It is not sufficient to end plastic pollution within Canada. We must eliminate our contribution to the global supply chain of harmful single-use plastics.
I challenge the notion addressed today that bans don't work. As noted by my peers, bans have decreased single-use plastics in the environment. What limit these bans' effectiveness are the legal challenges brought forward by petrochemical companies not only in Canada but also in the United States. The question before the committee is whether Canada will build on that progress or walk it back.
There are four reasons Oceana Canada believes a delay rather than a repeal is the right path.
First, Canada made binding legal international commitments to greater plastic stewardship. As affirmed by the Federal Court of Appeal, amendments to CEPA embed both the precautionary principle and an ecosystem-based approach as duties of the federal government. Canada signed on to the Ocean Plastics Charter in 2018 and played a leadership role in the INC negotiations towards a global plastics treaty. While Canada made these commitments in good faith and has had good negotiations towards reducing plastics pollution both domestically and internationally, policy gaps exist. In December 2025 alone, Canada exported approximately 12.7 million kilograms of plastic waste, and 83% of that went to the U.S. with an unknown fate. Repealing this export prohibition would further add to Canada's contribution to the global plastic pollution crisis and directly contradict those commitments, thus undermining our credibility at the international negotiation table.
Second, the primary rationale offered for this repeal—pressure from the U.S. administration regarding paper straws—is not a legal trade barrier. President Trump's February 2025 executive order applies only to federal procurement. It does not ban straws nationally, nor does it restrict the private sale of paper straws. It has yet to be finalized into regulation. Meanwhile, U.S. states representing more than 110 million consumers and over $11 trillion U.S. in economic activity, inclusive of California, New York and dozens of other states, have enacted their own single-use plastics regulations. Canada's competitive advantage lies in aligning with those markets, not retreating from them.
Third, repealing this export creates a disadvantage for the many Canadian businesses that already made the transition in good faith. These businesses have invested in alternative products, materials and equipment. Businesses cannot make sound investments and divestment under a federal government that is walking back policies on single-use plastics. It was made clear in 2021 that products bound for landfill and the environment are not welcome in our supply chain. Thus, provinces and EPR schemes followed suit and used them as guides to move in the same direction, while municipalities also followed suit. A reversal would throw us off course and devalue the millions invested by businesses and subnational governments alike.
Fourth, Canadians support the regulation of plastic products. In December 2025, 85% of Canadians said that they support the federal regulation to reduce unnecessary single-use plastics, and 83% believe it is the federal government that bears the greatest responsibility to do so.
In closing, the prohibition of single-use plastic exports is the mechanism by which Canada ensures that its domestic environmental ambitions do not simply become another country's problem. A delay to 2029 preserves the policy coherence, honours Canada's international obligations, supports businesses navigating the supply chain and recognizes the ongoing pressures from the U.S.