Ricova, a recycling company, challenged the City of Montreal’s decision to place it on the register of non-government contractors for a five-year period in the Supreme Court.
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The city’s executive committee made its decision on June 8 on the recommendation of the Office of Inspector General (BIG), while Mayor Valérie Plante’s office intended to review ongoing contracts with the company.
Ricova accuses the Plante administration of relying solely on the BIG’s “baseless” conclusions, with the company ensuring it never violated the contractual terms that bound it to the City of Montreal.
Ricova accuses the city of having a “hidden agenda” and recalls acquiring almost all assets, including the Lachine and Saint-Michel contracts, in July 2020, according to a court ruling.
“The City of Montreal was well aware that the material was being sold to Ricova International at the Quebec market price,” said Stephanie Dunglas, Ricova’s director of corporate communications and external relations, in a news release Thursday.
“Ricova International was the buyer of more than 90% of the recycled materials from the Lachine and Saint-Michel sorting centers before they were acquired by Services Ricova,” added Ms. Dunglas.
Believing it had delivered the goods, Ricova said it paid $7 million to the city of Montreal thanks to the sale of recycled materials from the Saint-Michel sorting center while the plan for the Lachine plant was put forward by the city has been devised.
“We have put forward a plan worth more than $4 million to improve the sorting center in Lachine, which has major design flaws, but the City of Montreal has not acted and is maintaining its threat to end the contract,” lamented Woman. Dunglas.