Company pegged to process Winnipeg recycling violated fair-wage policies

City staff are recommending Toronto-based Canada Fibers process Winnipeg’s recycling starting in 2019.

The company already handles roughly 60 per cent of Ontario’s blue bin waste. It would replace Emterra, whose contract to process recyclables expires Sept. 30, 2019.

Canada Fibers made headlines in 2015 when a Toronto Star story led to an investigation by the City of Toronto’s Fair Wage Office. That investigation found some 1,600 workers were owed money for being paid less than the city’s contract stipulated, and last year Canada Fibers was ordered to pay $1.33 million in fines and back pay.

“I wasn’t aware of that until yesterday, so I think that’ll be a fair question we can ask the staff. It wasn’t in the materials I got from our staff,” said Coun. Brian Mayes, Chair of the Water and Waste Committee. “That’s something we should be asking, how to make sure we don’t run into any problems with that. We had controversies with Emterra and day labour, so let’s try and flag this at the front end and make sure we don’t have any issues with Canada Fibers.”

Mayes isn’t sure if city staff were aware of the past issues with Canada Fibers.

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“You don’t know what the track record is of some of the other companies that bid as well. I don’t know if that was considered by the staff during the procedure, but the report had been prepared, we got it, it’s been published. It’s a fair question and we can ask the staff to talk about that.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "You don't know what the track record is of some of the other companies that bid as well. I don't know if that was considered by the staff during the procedure, but the report had been prepared, we got it, it's been published. It's a fair question and we can ask the staff to talk about that."

The recommendation still needs approval at the committee level and city council. If the contract is approved, it would not impact the collection of goods, done by Miller Waste Systems and GFL Environmental on a contract that still has six-plus years left in it.

Emterra used to collect recycling as well but still handled processing on a two-year contract worth $19 million. The proposed deal with Canada Fibers has an estimated annual cost of just under $9 million.

The next Water and Waste Committee meeting is set for Apr. 5.