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       Calgary votes to scrap single-use items bylaw
        
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       Calgary city council has voted 12-3 to repeal the single-use items
       bylaw.
        
       The bylaw required businesses to charge 15 cents for a paper bag and
       one dollar for a reusable bag, as well as offer other items like
       cutlery and plastic utensils by request only.
        
       The rules went into effect in January and sparked a significant amount
       of criticism.
        
       Couns. Courtney Walcott, Gian Carlo Carra, and Kourtney Penner were
       the dissenting votes.
        
       Tuesday began the process of formally repealing the city's single-use
       items bylaw Tuesday with a public hearing.
        
       Two weeks following implementation, council voted 10-5 to begin the
       process of repealing the bylaw, which requires a public hearing.
        
       "Essentially all that's before [council] is the repeal bylaw, so
       there's really not going to be an opportunity to rehash it, to try and
       amend it, it's either 'yes or no,' an up down vote, we either repeal
       it or we don't," explained Coun. Andre Chabot ahead of Tuesday's
       meeting.
        
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       This comes just one day after the longest hearing in Calgary's history
       wrapped up — more than 700 people turned out to city council to voice
       their concerns and support for proposed blanket rezoning.
        
       Chabot was hopeful council would successfully pull the plug on the
       single-use items bylaw.
        
       "I think there's going to be other opportunities to reduce our waste
       going to the landfill, other than this bylaw," he said. "Maybe
       something down the road will come back that addresses it from that
       perspective, but for now I think the best solution, and what we've
       heard from people, is just get rid of it.
        
       "If you want to try and start over, fine. But don't try and sausage-
       make on the council floor, it's not going to work.
        
       The city says roughly 15 million single-use items get thrown into the
       landfill every week.
        
       ## Calgary restaurants, bars say good riddance to single-use bylaw
        
       Calgary restaurants and bars have been rolling with all the punches
       stemmed from the city's single-use items bylaw and many say they
       aren't sad to see it go
        
       For many working in the service industry, it's been a long four months
       and counting. Ernie Tsu with the Alberta Hospitality Association says
       it's created more challenges for an industry still trying to recover
       from the effects of the pandemic.
        
       "The cost of the cutlery, napkins and all of those items, during a
       time when we had to survive on takeout, was quite high," he says.
       "Then when the single-use bylaw came in leaving restaurants sitting on
       an inventory, that effects their cash flow."
        
       Tsu says the bylaw has proven to be ineffective since it doesn't fall
       in line with the federal policies.
        
       "They didn't marry it with the federal intitiative, which ended up
       getting shot down in the Supreme Court of Canada," he says. "What this
       city council needs to understand is, they need to listen to
       Calgarians."
        
       He says businesses have developed fatigue, and while the bylaw is good
       in theory, he agrees that it's "unreasonable" and "unconstitutional."
        
       _-With files from Tiffany Goodwein_
        
        
        
        
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