Environment Minister Christine Tell says the Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce won't get more disclosure on a contract that cut out a Saskatoon business, but some governance changes requested are possible.

On Monday, Greater Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Jason Aebig wrote the Saskatchewan government to complain that the Tire Stewardship of Saskatchewan was failing some aspects of its mandate from the province. The chamber said the company, set up in 2017 to administer tire recycling, needed governance changes.

Saskatoon's Shercom Industries formerly had a contract for all Saskatchewan scrap tires until TSS issued an RFP for the Southern Saskatchewan. California-based CRM Tire Recycling won the RFP, prompting Shercom to refuse to bid on a subsequent RFP solely for Northern Saskatchewan tires.

Aebig called for as fulsome a release as possible of the feasibility study and of a provincial review of the procurement.

"Definitely he has some concerns, and a right to be heard. So we'll look at them and we will respond in due course," Tell told reporters.

Disclosure was not forthcoming, however.

"The feasibility report done by TSS is not for the government to share. So the contact to making inquiries need to be done between whoever's asking for it and TSS. I do not have that report," she said.

The government review of the procurement process made by former deputy premier Cam Swan would not be released either.

"No, that is internal. And there's human resource and commercially sensitive information in that report," she said.

Although Tell said in previous comments to reporters and in question period it was not her role to address the day-to-day operations of the TSS, Tell suggested the ministry would step in to some extent, given the provincial review.

"We look forward to the ministry working with TSS to provide that strengthening of how they administer, how they do their job on a daily basis," Tell told reporters.

The minister said she would consider Aebig's request for changes to the TSS board.

In a press conference Tuesday morning, Shercom CEO Shane Olson complained that TSS had communicated poorly with them. Tell said the ministry wanted to help how TSS engaged.

Tell added she had "no concerns" with splitting the tire recycling contract and insisted Shercom could have bid on the southern contract, despite language in the RFP that said TSS was looking for another processor.

Asked whether she was happy with the result, Tell said, "It is indeed fortunate . . . that when TSS and Shercom sat down together before the actual northern process RFP was issued, our desire was hopefully TSS could, and we weren't involved, but that TSS and Shercom could come to a deal."

When asked about worker safety at Shercom and why the contract went as it did, Tell replied, "I'm just not there."

"I think those issues that Shercom was challenged with a number of years ago, I'm saying that they were likely, in most cases, resolved. So I don't know where the angst, if there is any, would come from . . . [between] TSS and Shercom," Tell said.

A reporter suggested before the RFP had split the province, the previous arrangement seemed to be going fine.

"I know. That's gone on for six years, and that would be okay. But it's not," Tell replied.

So what happened?

"I wish I could fill it in for you concretely, but I cannot. The letter written to us by Jason [Aebig] will definitely taken under consideration. And government should never shy away from making regulatory, statutory, legislative changes when they are necessary," Tell said.

Tell said she believed there were enough tires to hold two processors, otherwise, CRM would not have bid on the southern contract. This, even though CRM is already the largest tire recycler in North America, and, unlike Shercom, was not relying on the Saskatchewan market.

When asked by Western Standard if she would look at the confidential analysis alleged to have backed her claim, Tell said, "We do not have that report. It came to us under the strictest of confidentiality, and I've never read it."

Audio and a voice-to-text transcript of Tell's press conference is available here.

Nunavut’s former NHL star Tootoo says Eskimo name is OK with him

Related Stories