Sask. NDP takes aim at premier over Shercom deal

Sask. tire recycler suing province for $10M WATCH: A Saskatoon rubber manufacturer is taking the province to court, claiming millions of dollars in damages for breach of a contract.

Saskatchewan’s NDP opposition is again taking aim at the province for its dealings with a Saskatoon-based tire recycling plant, Shercom.

On Nov. 15, Shercom launched a lawsuit against the Saskatchewan government, the province’s tire recycling regulator and its chief executive, claiming millions of dollars in damages for breach of a contract as part of a dispute that's lasted more than two years.

Pointing to details in the statement of claim, the NDP’s Aleana Young is accusing Premier Scott Moe of reneging on a promise that Shercom would have a long-term contract, an assured supply of used tires, and a voice in the future of the tire recycling industry if it rebuilt its manufacturing plant after a major fire in 2016.

The statement of claim argues Shercom was unfairly excluded from a request for proposals to award a second tire recycler in Saskatchewan, and argues negotiations were "predetermined and locked into awarding" services to an American based company instead.

Young says the decision led to the layoffs of about 130 people — 59 already axed from Shercom, plus another 79 next month as the company transitions to a skeleton staff.

"And if I were the premier, I would be working day and night to fix this. This is 130 families — 130 workers in Saskatoon, Martensville, Warman, who are facing pink slips right before Christmas,” Young said in a news release Monday.

Responding to the opposition, Moe said it’s the government’s role to create a regulatory environment where industry stakeholders make the decisions — not to put its thumb on the scales.

“The very people that are selling those tires are making the decisions about how they’re being recycled,” said Moe.

-With files from Keenan Sorokan