Transcontinental to appeal ruling dismissing effort to quash Mirabel flyer bylaw

The city of Mirabel, north of Montreal, switched to an opt-in system for Publisac in October 2019. Transcontinental says an opt-out system is simple and effective.

TC Transcontinental says it will appeal a Quebec Superior Court’s ruling that dismissed its motion to quash a Mirabel bylaw it says threatens the distribution of its retail flyers.

The Montreal-based packaging and printing company says the bylaw requiring consumers to request its so-called Publisac would lead to the distribution method’s demise due to prohibitive costs and complexity.

The city of Mirabel, north of Montreal, switched to an opt-in system for Publisac in October 2019.

Transcontinental says an opt-out system is simple and effective for those who do not wish to receive the Publisac used by more than 200,000 Quebec households.

The appeal comes a little more than a week after Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante said the province’s largest city will also adopt an opt-in system starting in May 2023 and that bags will no longer be plastic.

Plante says about 800,000 flyers and other unsolicited ads reach Montreal doorsteps each week, amounting to more than 41 million flyers per year that wind up in recycling depots and landfills. Montreal aims to become zero waste by 2030.