Letter: Bag Bylaw Unfairly Targets the Disabled

Re: “Absolutely Bagged”

The issue of single-use plastic is a hot one, as we have seen in Calgary. The UCP-backed group Common Sense Calgary has taken a victory lap for helping to begin the repeal process on that city’s single-use plastic bylaw. Now their counterparts, Common Sense Edmonton, vow to continue to insert themselves into municipal politics and work to repeal Edmonton’s bylaw.

The current Edmonton bylaw ignores an issue that needs to be addressed. The disability and low-income communities are not considered in the single-use bylaw. People with significant disabilities rely on services like Instacart, where there is no option other than paying for a new reusable bag each time. A three-bag order a week is now an extra $24/month that someone on AISH can’t afford. I asked city councillors if this was considered, but it was silence from the City’s end. City council needs to revisit and rethink how these fees are applied and impact disadvantaged members of our communities. This should have been automatically considered in the policy lens and the impact analysis flagged long before it reached council and mayor.

Kathy Telfer,
Edmonton