Question Period Note: CESD REPORT ZERO PLASTIC WASTE

• Canadians want to see progress on addressing plastic waste and pollution. The Government has already begun implementing measures to address the audit’s recommendations.
• For example, the Government will assess how a broad range of interventions - by governments, industry and Canadians - are contributing to reducing plastic waste and pollution in two public reports. The first will be published later this year, and the second one in 2027.
• We have also announced a number of domestic initiatives, including the creation of the Federal Plastics Registry, a new tool to compel plastic producers and other companies across the plastics value chain to help monitor and track plastic, from the time it is produced up to its end of life.
• The Registry will help to identify gaps in the plastics value chain where further government action may be required. The Registry will support the Government’s implementation and monitoring of different measures that are part of its zero plastic waste agenda.

• On April 30, 2024, the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development (CESD) tabled, in Parliament, a performance audit report on the federal government’s zero plastic waste initiative. Activities undertaken by Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and Statistics Canada were in the audit scope.
• The Commissioner’s report provided valuable observations that help strengthen the federal government’s work to protect the environment by tackling plastic waste and pollution.
• It provided recommendations on reporting out to Canadians on progress toward zero plastic waste.
• It also recognized that actions by Canadians, including all orders of government, Indigenous communities, industry, and civil society are needed to address this pressing issue.

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