Mayor Rob Ford isn’t throwing out his fight against Toronto’s looming plastic bag ban.
Ford urged his Newstalk 1010 show listeners Sunday to help him reverse the city’s ban on plastic bags. The ban is set to take effect January 1, 2013. Councillors on the public works committee is set to hold consultation on the ban at their November meeting.
“OK, folks, you want plastic bags, I want to keep plastic bags – they are very, very handy,” Ford said. “You have to show up November 14 to the works committee at 9:30 a.m. and you have five minutes to say why you think plastic bags are important or on the other hand, why you don’t think plastic bags are important.”
Ford read out the names of the 18 councillors who voted against reopening the bag ban at city council earlier this month.
“You have to call these councillors folks,” Ford said.
“We have to get Ana Bailao, Shelley Carroll, Raymond Cho, Janet Davis, Glenn De Baeremaeker, Sarah Doucette, Paula Fletcher, Mary Fragedakis, Mike Layton, Pam McConnell, Mary-Margaret McMahon, Joe Mihevc, Ron Moeser, Gord Perks, Anthony Perruzza, David Shiner, Adam Vaughan and Kristyn Wong-Tam.
“Folks, you must call these people and maybe they can explain why they want to ban plastic bags or why they don’t want to open the debate.”
Ford seemed to joke he may have to do a robo-call in those councillors’ wards to drive the point home.
“You have to put your waste in something,” Ford said.
“It is essential that we have plastic bags,” he added.
Councillor Doug Ford guaranteed the majority of the people in those councillors’ wards would say “I need a plastic bag.”
“It’s not our job, again here is the nanny state again government interfering, we know better,” Ford said. “It is just a socialist mentality that we’re dictating to people what they can and can’t do.”
Councillor Vince Crisanti, a guest on the Sunday radio show, complained the bag ban “rear-ended” councillors earlier this year as they debated ending the five-cent bag fee.
“Who saw that coming?” he said.
Crisanti joked next council could end up banning cars.
Councillor Ford blamed council for being “dysfunctional.”
“What’s next? A ban on what?” Ford asked.
Mayor Ford also hinted he may try to reverse City Hall’s ban on bottled water on city property. That ban was approved by former Mayor David Miller’s city council.
“You can allow bottled Coke and bottle root beer and bottle ginger ale and every other bottled (drink) at City Hall but you can’t have bottled water,” Ford said. “That’s something that we have to get back on the floor.”
