The company Ricova, which specializes in the collection and classification of residual materials, is now part of the Register of Ineligible Persons of the City of Montreal, we read in a decision of the comptroller general. Ricova and its subsidiaries will no longer be able to do business in the metropolitan area for the next five years.
The City is therefore following one of the recommendations of the Office of Inspector General (OIG), developed in a report published in March. The document reported several irregularities, including the fact that Services Ricova inc. sells the remaining materials it classified to Ricova International inc. who then resold them abroad.
The price declared by Services Ricova inc. systematically less than Ricova International inc. really gets buyers of materialswe note in summary the decision -making of the Comptroller General.
This difference is explained by the fact that the company has systematically reduced value minimal $ 20 per ton of amount declared to the City for profit sharing. Between August 2020 and July 2021, this maneuver deprived Montreal of revenues that could reach $ 1,150,000.
Still according to the survey of MALAKIthree of Ricova’s four entities involved in the sorting and resale of waste at its facilities in Lachine and Saint-Michel do not have contract authorization issued by the Autorité des marchés publics.
Even Ricova is in blacklist of the City, its two contracts relating to the Lachine and Saint-Michel classification centers will not be terminated, despite the recommendation of MALAKI at this point. It is currently being analyzed and subject to a subsequent report to the executive committee.
This is not the only controversy at heart where Ricova finds herself. Investigation announced at the beginning of the year that the company was shipping bale composite paper to India with contamination rates (i.e., the presence of other non-recyclable residual materials) that were eight times higher than provided in his contract.
Towards a court challenge?
Following the investigation of MALAKIRicova indicated, through her attorney, that if it turns out that the municipal council of the City of Montreal has complied with the recommendations [du BIG]appropriate legal proceedings will be initiated.
In a formal notice sent to the City, Me Julie Therrien said, among other things, that Inspector General Brigitte Bishop’s report contains lies, inaccuracies and omissions that are likely to completely break it.
For her part, Ricova denied the conclusions of MALAKI. Its president, Dominic Colubriale, confirmed that Ricova Services holds authorization from the Autorité des marchés publics, and that it extends to its two entities that operate the classification centers, through agreements with subcontracting. As for Ricova International, it is a simple consumer only of recycled materials, not participating in any way in marketing obligations.
On the question of the $ 20 per tonne amounts levied on transactions with Ricova International, Mr. Colubriale said the prices at which the materials were sold to Ricova International were in favor of the City of Montreal in a press release published in the spring. The City has never earned more money from recycling than in the past 14 months, when Ricova donated $ 5.8 million.
Source: Radio-Canada
