OTTAWA — The Supreme Court of Canada says it will hear an appeal of Ottawa’s ban on single-use plastics. The Federal Court of Appeal overturned a lower court decision in January, allowing the federal government to keep the ban in place. A 2023 Federal Court decision in a case brought by the plastics industry said Ottawa had overstepped by designating all “plastic manufactured items” as toxic. But in a unanimous decision in January, the three-judge appellate panel ruled the federal government’s decision to list plastic manufactured items as toxic was reasonable. Ottawa used that designation to issue a ban on the manufacturing and importing of six types of single-use plastics, including straws, grocery bags, stir sticks and the six-pack rings used to hold soda and beer cans. The government said it chose those items because they were commonly found in litter and had known and accessible alternatives. This report from The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 15, 2026. Nick Murray, The Canadian Press
