Press Releases

MUNICIPALITY OF THE DISTRICT OF GUYSBOROUGH
DATE: APRIL 13, 2010

Guysborough asks court to overturn decision of RRFB

The Municipality of the District of Guysborough (MODG) has gone to court to fight for a tire recycling plant that it says should be located at the Guysborough Waste Management Facility. In a Notice of Action filed today, the MODG asks the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia to declare a decision awarding the tire recycling contract to Halifax C & D Recycling Ltd. “null and void.” It is also seeking damages and costs in the action.

The Notice of Action states that Resource Recovery Board Fund Board (RRFB) committed “serious errors” in awarding the contract to Halifax C & D Recycling Ltd. and in rejecting the MODG’s proposal to site the recycling plant at its existing waste management facility, which is located between Boylston and Lincolnville.

It says the RRFB failed “to correctly and fairly evaluate” the business plan and job creation strategy included in the MODG’s response to a 2009 Request for Proposals for Processing and Recycling tires. The court action also states the RRFB “breached its duty of fairness” in awarding the contract to Halifax C & D Recycling Ltd., which plans to site the facility in the Goodwood area of Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM).

MODG Warden Lloyd Hines said the decision to take the matter to court was made after the District tried and failed to get information about the RRFB’s decision through the Freedom of Information process. “We think the RRFB’s decision will result in the needless loss of millions of dollars over the next five to ten years, and taxpayers will end up footing the bill. We think Guysborough had the best bid, and we know we had the lowest bid. We want to know why we didn’t win, and we want this decision reversed.”

Councillor Sheila Pelly said most people across the MODG, and in the African-Canadian communities Sunnyville, Upper Big Tracadie and Lincolnville, support the MODG’s bid to attract the tire recycling facility. “We need the jobs and we deserve to win this contract. This is an important part of our overall economic strategy in MODG,” said Ms. Pelly, who has represented her area since 2004 and is chair of the municipality’s Landfill Liaison Committee.

The Municipality of the District Guysborough owns and operates the Guysborough Waste Management Facility, a 350-acre complex which is strategically located on Mainland Nova Scotia between Cape Breton Island and HRM. The award-winning facility provides waste management services to 230,000 people and is monitored and maintained to strict environmental standards.

For further information, contact:
Marie France LeBlanc
1-902-430-6619

Media Release April 13 2010.pdf