July 8, 2021
Stewardship Ontario is carefully examining the July 6 announcement of the anticipated acquisition of Canadian Stewardship Services Alliance (CSSA) by GFL Environmental Inc. (GFL) through a newly formed company, Resource Recovery Alliance (RRA).
CSSA provides analytical and administrative support services to Stewardship Ontario. CSSA has provided Stewardship Ontario with written assurance that, following the transaction, all Stewardship Ontario data will be held in confidence within RRA; will be used solely for the purposes of providing services under the current CSSA-Stewardship Ontario Services Agreement; and will not be accessible to GFL.
In light of Stewardship Ontario’s responsibility to stewards and its obligations under the Blue Box Transition and Stewardship Ontario Wind Up Plan, Stewardship Ontario will be taking steps to assess the sufficiency of the control measures proposed by CSSA. Additionally, Stewardship Ontario will consider what additional measures may be necessary to protect stewards’ confidential information, ensure the continued integrity of its Conflict of Interest policies, and support competition among prospective Producer Responsibility Organizations (PROs) under the Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act, 2016.
Stewardship Ontario has and will act expeditiously to ensure that these inquiries are completed and will consult with its stakeholder community on any new policies or actions it takes or proposes to take. Stewardship Ontario will also be seeking the necessary input from the Resource Productivity and Recovery Authority to ensure compliance with the approved Transition and Wind Up Plan.