That's a great question.
Whenever we look at a pollutant, we look at the potential for harm to fish, wildlife and human health. In coastal British Columbia, where our indigenous communities are relying on aquatic foods, consuming, on average, 15 times as much seafood as the average Canadian, we remain concerned that the microplastics and plastics that are either killing fish and wildlife or getting eaten by fish and wildlife, which are then consumed by first nations, represent a significant setback to our attempts at reconciliation. Assuring food safety for indigenous communities is a pre-eminent interest of ours.
To the point about the effectiveness of SUPPR in this context, I do note that the great Canadian shoreline cleanup has documented significant declines in the number of plastic bags and straws on Canadian shorelines to the tune of a 60% straw reduction and 25% fewer bags.
These are large amounts of plastic, but, again, the single-use plastic regulations only target 3% of the total plastic waste entering Canadian waterways. We suffer from continued blights on our shorelines that are a problem for tourism in B.C. On the east coast, we have whales that are entangled in fishing gear, most of it being plastic.
There are significant impediments to the health and well-being of wildlife and at-risk species, such as the southern resident killer whales which are endangered and number only 74. As well, there are concerns regarding food safety for all Canadians.
Tourism, food safety, indigenous food security all have significant threats to their well-being and, obviously, have bearing on the economic well-being for those communities or the communities relying upon them.