CCC Meets Lawmakers in Québec City

Earlier this fall, Carton Council of Canada Managing Director Isabelle Faucher visited the National Assembly in Québec City to continue raising the authorities’ awareness of carton recyclability and to express support for the expansion, as provided for by law, of the new Québec deposit return system to beverage cartons starting March 1, 2027.

Isabelle was part of a delegation of the Canadian Beverage Association (CBA), whose members consist mainly of non‑alcoholic-beverage producers. The delegation included one of the country’s biggest carton users, Lassonde, which owns several brands of juice, soup, broth and wine, as well as of other beverages and food products.

Isabelle Faucher of CCC (at left) with other members of the Canadian Beverage Association delegation at Québec’s National Assembly. Photo: CBA.

Québec government minister Samuel Poulin with Cynthia Shanks, Krista Scaldwell and Carole Grenier of the Canadian Beverage Association. Photo: CBA.

During their visit, the members of the delegation were able to meet Samuel Poulin, Minister for the Economy and Small and Medium Enterprises; Frédéric Beauchemin, Liberal MNA and Official Opposition Critic for Economy and Innovation; Joël Arseneau, Parti Québécois MNA and Third Opposition Group Critic for the Environment and the Fight Against Climate Change; and members of the staffs of Bernard Drainville, Minister of the Environment, the Fight Against Climate Change, Wildlife and Parks and of Donald Martel, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.

Progress on the rollout of the expanded deposit return system in Québec was one of the main topics of discussion during the meetings. The CBA delegation also had a broader goal of increasing awareness of the association and its members, including their importance to the economy. In Québec, CBA members market some 60 non‑alcoholic beverage brands and have more than 3,000 employees, generating an estimated $449 million in tax revenues along with approximately $1.5 billion in employment revenues.

The day of meetings wrapped up with a cocktail party attended by other industry players, including several representatives of Sustana, whose pulp mill that recycles post-consumer cartons is located not far from Parliament Hill, across the St. Lawrence River in Lévis.

Pascale Blais-Giroux of Lassonde and Isabelle Faucher (at centre) were joined by David Vallières, Aaron Ling and Marie-Ève Chapdelaine of Sustana at the evening cocktail party, held in the Library of the National Assembly. Photo: CCC.