While on with John Tory during his round table, News broke that City Council was banning plastic bags. Off air I yelled Obscene, Arrogant and Useless!!! City Hall clearly thinks shootings, employing people charged with sex assault, and roads falling apart should not be their priority. That is why these Toronto Nanny State Councillors should hear from all of you about their effort to send you shopping in the 905. Contact: Maria Augimeri, Ana Bailão, Michelle Berardinetti, Shelley Carroll, Raymond Cho, Josh Colle, Gary Crawford, Janet Davis, Glenn De Baeremaeker, Sarah Doucette, Paula Fletcher, Mary Fragedakis, Mike Layton, Pam McConnell, Mary-Margaret McMahon, Joe Mihevc, Peter Milczyn, Ron Moeser, Gord Perks, Anthony Perruzza, Jaye Robinson, David Shiner, Adam Vaughan and Kristyn Wong-Tam.

Rob Ford asked for the plastic bag ban whether he knows it or not. No one was talking about it and there was no reason for him to try to get the 5 cent fee eliminated. It was just another one of his campaign promises he had failed to deliver on, so why call attention to it? His inability to build consensus and work with the middle has helped to set-up many of his failures. Pull the Cord on Rob or Doug Ford and they chirp lefty this and lefty that. He has let down much of his base because of his inability to work with others.

That said, I would be careful if I was one of the Councillors who have a default setting to vote against the Mayor. While Ford has illustrated he does not know how to get the job done, votes like the bag ban will remind people why they voted for him and tired of Miller. If the left and Middle on council continue to act in what appears to be a purely arrogant spiteful way the guy that no one thought could win the first time could win a second.

The bag ban on its merit does not pass the smell test. The streets are not polluted with random bags blowing in the wind. Litter studies from the States show that bags are at most 1 - 2 percent of litter. The numbers show the amount of bags in landfills is under 0.6 percent of the rubble. The impact of eliminating free plastic bags on the amount of waste generated in the city would be insignificant.

It is also unrealistic. People who drive cars keep them in the trunk for use if they decide to make an unplanned stop; but transit commuters don't have that luxury if they need to pick up a litre of milk when their better half calls. The majority of the population who now reuse recyclable plastic bags for waste and pet doo doo will have to buy replacements ....but at least these bags won't have a corporate logo on them.

Unlike many plastic bags reusable woven bags are made abroad and imported to Canada on cargo ships burning tons of foreign oil. They are made of mixed materials that can’t be recycled so they end up in landfills. Are plastic bags that terrible that we need to put more North Americans out of work for little environmental gain?

And finally in a recent study virtually every reusable bag tested contained high amounts of bacteria including E. coli, and other taste pathogens. They instruct us to wash these bags after each use, which, over time, will require huge amounts of hydro and waste water.

So, Thanks?

Please call the Councillors above and let them know how you feel!