A potential ban on plastic shopping bags was the focus of discussion at last week’s Flin Flon and District Chamber of Commerce meeting.
Chamber president Dianne Russell said the City of Flin Flon has asked the Chamber for its members’ position on a potential ban. She opened the floor to members to share their thoughts and concerns.
Flin Flon city councillor Karen MacKinnon said she perceived the amount of plastic bags at the Flin Flon landfill as a major problem, and said other northern communities, including Thompson and The Pas, have found success with plastic-bag bans.
“The Thompson mayor said it has made a big difference in their community, the cleanliness and the landfill,” MacKinnon said at the Tuesday, June 14 meeting, held at the Friendship Centre Restaurant.
Denare Beach mayor Carl Lentowicz suggested the three local municipalities would benefit from addressing the issue together.
He said plastic bags were a costly problem at the Denare Beach landfill, as the village needs to hire individuals to clean up the bags in order to ensure the landfill meets regulatory standards.
“Personally I could do without plastic bags,” said Tom Therien, general manager of North of 53 Consumers Co-op, though he also noted that paper bags were significantly more expensive for retailers.
He added that the Co-op pays customers four cents for every cloth bag they use at the grocery store, and in the last two years customers brought, on average, 63,000 and 65,000 cloth bags to the store per year.
“It’s not a lot, but it’s a start,” he said.
Randy Daneliuk, owner of The Tire Shop, suggested the Chamber consider selling fabric bags at local businesses as a way to reduce the use of plastic bags.
Tim Smith, representing Kleen All Enterprises, said he was concerned that Main Street businesses would either need to absorb the cost of providing more expensive alternative bags, or would risk annoying customers by not having free bags available.
Smith suggested biodegradable plastic bags as an alternative that would be less costly for retailers than switching to
paper bags.
Helen Jebsen, manager of PBCN Creighton Petro Canada, suggested the issue might be less contentious after a period of adjustment to a ban.
“Nobody likes change, but once everybody gets used to that change, it will be a good thing,” she said.
Flin Flon city council has not formally introduced a plastic-bag ban. MacKinnon raised the issue at a recent council meeting.
Honourary members
Chamber members voted to grant honourary lifetime membership to Mary Dwernichuk and Lois (Bunny) Burke. Both women have been active with the chamber for many years.
Russell said the honourary membership was intended for “persons who have distinguished themselves by meritorious service”.
Local centre
Myrna Ewing of the SIIT Creighton Work Prep Centre shared a presentation on the educational institution, which focuses on providing skills training for construction and other industrial sectors.
Ewing said the centre had been open for about a year and a half, and in that time has registered 456 clients, 134 of whom have found employment.
Ewing encouraged local business leaders to contact the centre when looking for employees, and emphasized that the centre’s services were for everyone.
Asked about supports for workers coming into the community from reserves, Ewing said the centre was working on building relationships with local businesses and services to help incoming students and workers make a smooth transition to working life in the Flin Flon area.
