From Wednesday, August 10 to Friday, September 2, 2022, RPRA consulted on a proposal to transfer an interim amount of OES residual funds to RPRA to offset 2023 RRCEA Program Fees for ITT/AV producers, and sought feedback on how the remaining residual funds could be applied to reduce future fees for ITT/AV producers once OES completes its liquidation. Read the consultation report.
Based on the feedback received, RPRA will take the following steps:
- RPRA will defer the proposed interim transfer of OES residual funds to RPRA.
- Once the OES Liquidator has resolved all outstanding financial matters and the full amount of remaining residual funds is known, the full amount of OES residual funds will be transferred to RPRA to reduce RRCEA Program Fees for ITT/AV producers to $0.
- Remaining funds will be applied in the same manner to future payment cycles until the residual funds are exhausted.
The amount of OES residual funds is contingent on the resolution of a Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) matter. If the OES Liquidator’s claim is successful, the refund amount awarded by CRA will be added to the OES reserve fund. Depending on the outcome of the CRA case, the final amount of the residual funds could range from approximately $3M (the current reserve fund amount), minus ongoing operating expenses, to $17M, if OES receives the maximum amount claimed from CRA.
Consultation Feedback
RPRA hosted a webinar on Tuesday, August 23 to present the proposal, answer questions and gain feedback from stakeholders. View the webinar recording here.
Stakeholders were encouraged to submit feedback on the proposal to consultations@rpra.ca by September 2, 2022.
Background
In February 2018, the Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks directed the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Program to be wound up. OES was required to submit a wind-up plan (WUP) to RPRA, which was approved with conditions on August 20, 2019.
The approved OES WUP describes that residual funds remaining in OES after wind-up activities are completed will be transferred to RPRA to offset RRCEA Registry-related expenses. This provision is based on the Minister’s Direction issued in a letter to RPRA dated July 27, 2019, on the use of the WEEE program surplus and OES residual funds.
The approval of the OES WUP by the RPRA Board in August 2019 included a condition that OES shall cooperate with RPRA in consulting with stakeholders on additional details about the transfer of remaining OES residual funds to RPRA to offset Registry-related expenses and how the funds will be used.