Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce calls on province to overhaul provincial tire recycling

The Greater Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce is calling on the provincial government to "put the tires back on" its tire recycling program.Chamber CEO Jason Aebig published a three-page letter to Environment Minister Christine Tell on Monday afternoon that condemned the status quo.Shercom Industries in Saskatoon recycled tires for the province until Tire Stewardship of Saskatchewan (TSS) issued an RFP for a southern processor besides the current one. TSS was set up as an industry-based non-profit in 2017 by the Ministry of the Environment.The RFP was granted to California-based CRM Tire Processing, the largest company of its kind in North America, which opened a tire shred facility in Moose Jaw.Shercom, sensing what CEO Mike Richards called "bad faith" bargaining and economic challenges from a limited supply of tires, laid off 60 workers and chose not to bid on an RFP for northern processing.The chamber said the TSS "forced the closure," though the chamber gave "good credit" to the government for formally reviewing the procurement process."However, we are convinced that there are wider issues with the current structure, mandate and direction of TSS that need to be addressed. We believe that there continues to be a lack of accountability and meaningful oversight over the decisions and actions taken by this agency which has failed to steward the industry in the best interests of Saskatchewan’s environment and economy," the chamber wrote."By any measure, TSS has clearly failed to meet this expectation. Changes need to be made."The chamber pointed to the environment ministry's directives to TSS: “The program operator [TSS] must build positive working relationships for collection, transportation and recycling of scrap tires in the province to bring the most benefit for Saskatchewan consumers and businesses.”The chamber recommended the province "[e]stablish a minimum, guaranteed supply of scrap tires to processors to inform their business plans, expansions, and investments in jobs and equipment."The chamber also called on the province to "fix the board" of TSS. Such changes would provide for two independent representatives from the business sector with no affiliation to the tire industry, a seat for a deputy minister or designate from the government to ensure TSS actions align with Saskatchewan's growth plan, and seats for representatives of tire processors on the board.A feasibility study made by TSS that purportedly supported enough supply for two processors has never been released. The chamber said publication was necessary "to re-establish trust among all stakeholders -- and restore the credibility of TSS as an agency working in the best interests of Saskatchewan’s economy, environment, consumers and businesses."The Sask Party government told Western Standard the report was redacted in accordance with the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIP)."The report was provided to the Ministry of Environment by TSS’s legal counsel and was identified as strictly confidential. These redactions in the report are supported by section 19 of FOIP, which notes that a head shall refuse to give access to a record that contains financial, commercial, scientific, technical or labour relations information that is supplied in confidence, implicitly or explicitly, to a government institution by a third party."Shercom now imports crumb rubber from other provinces to get raw material for its manufacturing side."Unless they [TSS] could guarantee us 98% of the tires of the province, the business plan doesn't work. So for us to put a bid on the northern half, it didn't make sense fiscally for our company," Richards told Western Standard.Prior to losing the provincial contract, Shercom provided many playgrounds to communities through a "sure-safe grant" invented by the company.