Winnipeg's trash contractor facing $400K in fines

The company contracted to pick upWinnipeg's residential trash and recycling isfacingupwards of $400,000 in fines for poor serviceinNovember alone.

St. Boniface Coun. Dan Vandal, who chairs the city's infrastructure and public works committee, said he has finally receivedsome rough numbersabout the fines from city administration after requesting them forweeks.

Vandal said theestimated fine for the month ranges from$350,000 to $400,000, though "itcould be higher, but it also could be lower. It's an approximate number."

Emterra started collecting most of the city's waste in October and there have been thousands of complaints of missed pickups.

The city had saidEmterra would start facing stiff fines if it didn't catch up on missed serviceand eliminate the delays.

Earlier this month,city administrators came under fire for not disclosinghow much the company had been penalized, claiming the information was confidential.

Prevented by law from releasing details

Councillorssaid they have a right to know those details, particularly if it brings in revenue that can impactbudget consultations.

Michael Jack, the City of Winnipeg's head of legal services, said Manitoba's Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA) prevents city officials from disclosing the amount of the fines Emterra received.

Under the privacy rules, the city could not disclose such information without Emterra's permission, Jack said.

"An inquiry was made [as to] whether or not Emterra would consent to disclosure of that information, and they did not. So there was really no alternative," he said.

"There wasn't some discretion being exercised to be reluctant in providing information to councillors," he added. "The public service determined early on that in fact, they couldn't, pursuant to their duties under FIPPA."

Administrators were only able to release general information about the fines to Vandal after hesubmitted a formal request on behalf of the public works committee, Jack said.

Vandal said city administration needs to be more open when it comes to giving city councillors the numbers they request.

"We're going to be further discussing this at Friday's public works meeting," he said.

Councillors react

At least one othercouncillor believesEmterra is getting off easy withthe fines it is facing.

Althoughservice has improved,Mynarski Coun. Ross Eadie says he doubts the company has been punished enough to get the message.

"I'm not sure that the fines were being carried out in a way that would have inspired Emterra to do a better job. Again, they are still missing garbage [but] it's nowhere near as bad as it was," he said.

Daniel McIntyre Coun. Harvey Smith said he wants more information, and he wants to see the city's contract with Emterra.

"I think the contract should be made available to all councillors," he said.

"I'd like to know when did it start. When did they start assessing the penalties?"

Smith said Emterra officials have agreed to meet with him on Tuesday.