'Tire fire of a deal' still raising burning questions in Sask. legislature

Saskatchewan's scrap tire industry was top of mind again in Regina Tuesday as politicians and advocates continued to probe into how an American company became the province’s only recycler.

Saskatchewan's scrap tire industry was top of mind again in Regina Tuesday as politicians and advocates continued to probe into how an American company became the province’s only recycler.

Executives from Shercom Industries, a Saskatoon company that recycled the province's used tires until last May, were in Regina to voice their concerns about a deal to award the province’s tire recycling contract to California-based Crumb Rubber Manufacturers (CRM).

"Who would want to be responsible for this tire fire of a deal?" Regina-Elphinstone MLA Meara Conway asked during Tuesday's question period at the legislature.

Conway's question was directed at Environment Minister Christine Tell, who oversees the Tire Stewardship of Saskatchewan (TSS), a non-profit established in 2017 to run the province's scrap tire program and recycling.

The tire stewardship has come under criticism after the NDP questioned its role, and the province's handling of the program, after its 2022 decision to create two recyclers in the province. As a result, Shercom would lose half its potential recycling revenue, and opted to close its plant instead, laying off dozens of employees.

"Now their company has to order product outside of Saskatchewan," Conway said. "In their words, 'none of this makes any sense.'"

In the wake of the 2022 decision to break up its monopoly, Shercom argued it couldn’t sustain its recycling business with access to only half of the province’s scrap tires.