Complaints about paper-bag fees being charged at drive-thrus in Chilliwack have been rolling into city hall.
It’s the provincial rules that dictate that if a city enacts a single-use item reduction bylaw, like the one that came into effect in Chilliwack in April 2022, minimum fees have to be charged when paper bags or reusable shopping bags are handed out.
Fees of 25 cents for paper bags, and $2 for reusable bags were scheduled to come into effect in January under Chilliwack’s bylaw, to dovetail with provincial requirements.
That was the staff recommendation before council this week, said Tara Friesen, manager of environmental services for City of Chilliwack.
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Instead, council decided to ease into those higher fees gradually, keeping the introductory fees of 15 cents for paper and $1 for reusable bags in place until March 31, 2023, rather than the proposed 10-cent increase by the new year.
“Overall it has received very strong support from the public,” Friesen said about the single-use item bylaw. “However we have received some complaints and concerns about the fees for paper bags at drive-thru establishments.
Council members and city staff fielded complaints from residents that existing businesses with drive-thrus were already using paper bags before they started charging for them, while others said there was no way to receive an order of food without a paper bag.
Some were unaware the fees were being retained by the businesses, and were not being collected by the city.
City staff checked with provincial officials to see if drive-thrus could be exempt from charging the paper bag fees - as requested by council.
“Ministry staff confirmed that, no, we definitely don’t have the ability to include that exemption in our bylaw regulation,” Friesen explained in council chambers.
Mayor Ken Popove said he was glad that Friesen’s staff report “clears up the misconception” that the bag fee revenues were coming back to the city, “which is untrue.”
Coun. Jeff Shields agreed, saying there has been “a lot of blame” placed on the city for the 15 cent-bag fee, including the messaging on some signs at local drive-thru establishments.
“I’d like to challenge some of those restaurants instead of pocketing that money, to invest it in environmental or community causes rather than just profit, which it is,” Shields said.
Coun. Chris Kloot asked staff if there had been any talk of the fee revenues being returned to municipalities to offset their climate action plan costs, and the answer was no.
“I find it a little bit challenging that the province came through with these broad strokes,” Kloot said about the single-use item reduction rules. “We know City of Chilliwack is a little bit ahead of the federal legislation coming down next year, but it would be helpful if each city was able to pivot as needed, and we don’t have that ability, so I am finding that a bit of a challenge.”
Friesen said the province was planning to apply the new regulations even more broadly in the future, to cities who don’t adopt a single-use plastics bylaw.
“We could forward that on to province, that there should be some flexibility,” Friesen said.
“I think that would be helpful,” Kloot said, adding he was in favour of extending the introductory period of lower fees.
“Everything is so expensive now, and it’s only 10 cents more, but over the course of the month or months, it adds up.”
Coun. Bud Mercer said the plastics reduction topic was “near and dear” to him and the increased fees had his support since “they will encourage people to think differently.”
“But I find it tragic and unfortunate that part of McDonald’s, and I’ll use them as an example, that part of their business model is to reap the benefits of being green. I think that is the smaller casualty in this discussion compared to caring for our environment.”
Despite the complaints, Chilliwack should be “proud of where we’re at” instead of worrying about the fees.
Coun. Harv Westeringh agreed that 10 cents more per bag was not “too onerous” and he was good with increasing the fees come January.
Coun. Jason Lum asked if retailers could charge fees over the minimum, and was told there were no maximum fees, only minimums.
He also asked if the city was tracking which retailers had chosen to increase fees over the minimum, and was told it was not.
Lum asked a third question, wondering if customers could see those bag fees on their receipts, and was told yes there was a requirement for the fees to show up as a separate line item.
He concluded with idea that a letter be sent from the city asking provincial officials if retailers could be required to report back on the revenue totals from bag fees.
Coun. Mercer said he would like to take it even further in terms of the language in the letter to the province. If the fast food market is “benefiting financially,” not only should the revenues be reported, “but it should come back to the city to help fund green initiatives,” Mercer said.
“It shouldn’t be a profit thing,” he said.
Popove added that reporting would “make them accountable.”
Coun. Kloot said if they resolved to write a letter to the province on the fee revenue topic, he’d like to formally request that the province send the city a reply.
“Even if they tell us to pound sand,” he said, “since often times we send a letter and nothing happens in return.”
Council passed the following motion: “That council direct staff to extend the introductory period for the paper and reusable shopping bag fees until March 31, 2023; and further, draft an amendment to the ‘Single-Use Item Reduction Bylaw 2021, No. 5062’ to update the introductory period and incorporate the new fees after March 31, 2023.”
The goal of the bylaw is reducing street garbage and plastic pollution, and it has been in the works since 2019.
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