Minister Provides Further Direction on Wind Up of Used Tires Program and the Ontario Tire Stewardship
On June 30, 2017, the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, the Honourable Glen Murray, provided further direction to Ontario Tire Stewardship (OTS) and the Resource Productivity and Recovery Authority (the Authority) on the wind up of the Used Tires Program (UTP).
The Minister directed OTS to consider the interests of current and future tire consumers while developing options to deal with program surpluses and deficits, and to limit spending to necessary program expenditures during the wind up period.
In addition, the Minister directed OTS to include in its wind up plan, the following:
- rules governing fees for the program during the wind up period;
- elimination of fees for passenger and light truck tires where possible to minimize any surplus;
- ensure sufficient funds for program costs and wind up;
- manage deficits for off-the-road tires; and,
- alternatives to disposing of the Treadmarks IT system that would ensure fair and equitable access to all users.
In a separate letter, the Minister also provided direction to the Authority regarding its duties relating to the wind up of the UTP and OTS. The Authority was instructed as follows:
- review OTS’ 2017 program budget and expenditures to ensure that it supports efficient cost reduction and program spending is limited to necessary expenditures;
- confirm OTS’ 2018 program budget promotes efficient cost reduction approaches during the program wind up period, and limits new spending to necessary program expenditures.
- the Authority was also directed to review OTS’ current and estimated costs for 2017 and 2018 and develop an approach to ensure sufficient funds are available for the wind up of the program and OTS.
The Minister’s letters on the wind up of the UTP and OTS can be viewed in their entirety here.