A couple of election promises caught my attention. Perhaps these define different priorities established by politicians who aim to lead Canada’s federal government. Maybe some of it is just useless theatre.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is promising to scrap the federal government’s ban on single-use plastics and bring back plastic straws and disposable grocery bags. 

CBC News

Contrast Poilievre’s important plan with Mark Carney’s.

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So, what is Canada’s larger problem: the shortage of straws and grocery bags made of plastic, or the lack of housing that most Canadians can afford?

Habitat for Humanity Canada has an idea.

Lack of housing ranked as a top concern for Canadians for the third consecutive year, alongside inflation and access to health care. The majority of survey respondents (84%) say that buying a home feels like a luxury. 88% of renters say the goal of owning a home in Canada has become out of reach.

Of course, for Poilievre, the issue is not about the kind of straws or bags we use. Conservative politicians want bans on bans — except when the rules ban activities that displease them.

Explaining the politicization of a less-than-vital consumer product, political analyst Chris Stirewalt said that plastic straws have taken on a totemic quality for right-wingers who see their ban as evidence of government overreach.

Shall we eliminate speed limits near schools and playgrounds because they demonstrate the nanny state has run amok? Shall we rid ourselves of air traffic control systems that direct pilots where and when they can move aircraft? Shall we end the work of inspectors who ensure our food supplies are safe to eat and our medicines can be trusted? All nanny state inhibitions?

In fact, plastics are a real and ever-growing problem. If conservatives truly want to protect and preserve our ways of life, they ought to be cheerleading the efforts to reduce pollution by plastics and other contaminants.

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