Premier Doug Ford has directed the Liquor Control Board of Ontario to immediately reverse its decision to get rid of paper bags.
The L-C-B-O said in April 2023 that phasing out the bags would divert thousands of tonnes of waste from the landfills and save the equivalent of over 188-thousand trees every year.
Ford says in a letter to the head of the L-C-B-O that families are already struggling to make ends meet and they should not face the additional cost of having to buy reusable bags or instead openly carry their alcohol in public.
He also writes that the environmental merits of the decision are “questionable at best” since paper bags can be recycled.
The paper bags stopped being available in stores as of September 5th, requiring customers to purchase a reusable bag or bring their own.