Supreme Court of Canada to hear appeal of Ottawa’s single-use plastics ban

OTTAWA — The Supreme Court of Canada says it will hear an appeal of Ottawa’s ban on single-use plastics. In January, the Federal Court of Appeal overturned a lower court decision, allowing the federal government to keep the ban in place.

In 2023, the Federal Court ruled in a case brought by the plastics industry that Ottawa had overstepped by designating all “plastic manufactured items” as toxic. But in a unanimous decision in January, a three-judge panel of the appeal court found that the federal government’s decision to list plastic manufactured items as toxic was reasonable.

Ottawa used that designation to ban the manufacture and import of six types of single-use plastics, including straws, grocery bags, stir sticks and the plastic rings used to hold six-packs of soft drink and beer cans. The government said it selected those items because they are commonly found in litter and have known, accessible alternatives.

This report from The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 15, 2026. By Nick Murray.