Buddy can you spare $1 million for a stewardship program?

by Jay Arthur

In my last column I talked about the potential death of the scrap tire plan and what might happen to finances at the WDO office if no other plans get approved in the future.
With the system dependent on administrative expenses being covered by industry fees from approved recovery programs, an ongoing supply of approved programs is going to be needed to keep the bills paid.
On top of this, there is a lot of work to be done after a material is designated, and no money coming in until a recovery plan is approved.
Any bumps in the road to recovery, so to speak, could prove to be big  trouble. And we have seen some big bumps with both the oil plan and the tire plan.
But who knew the situation was so dire?
Well, one assumes the regulars knew because surely this would have come up at the WDO board meetings where all the regular attendees, observers and hangers-on would have had some notion from what was said that there might be financial troubles ahead. We don't know if there's anything in the recent minutes-- they don't seem to be available.
Strictly speaking, of course, this is not the first time money troubles have been an issue. The delay in getting even the first program plan approved was causing some grief in late 2003 and it was only the offer of guarantees from the brewers and the retailers that put everyone's mind at rest. And a few days after the concern was raised, the plan was approved and we all slept better in our beds.
But then again in October of last year, one board member was concerned that because of cash flow problems the board might approve programs that did not meet the standards but "were close enough". (This meeting, curiously enough, was just one month after the board approved the scrap tire plan, despite its obvious flaws.)
Another board member at the October 2004 meeting wondered if an industry funding organization (IFO) could loan money to the cash-strapped WDO.
In the meantime, there was a million-dollar line of credit available.
So it shouldn't really have come as too much of a surprise

when a newspaper report was posted on the AMO website, saying the wolf had just returned to the WDO's door.
A Sault Ste Marie councillor was quoted as saying the finances were in trouble and the organization close to death.
Speaking to his council colleagues, and diligently recorded by the local Clark Kent, the good councillor said everyone was relying on the tire plan being approved to bring in the necessary dollars to pay the WDO bills.
So what happens now? Or has something already happened? By all appearances the WDO is still operating and there have been no plans to cancel the two-day retreat at the luxurious Kingbridge Centre ("a World-Class Environment For Meetings").
The WDO website is still operating. No mention of money troubles there.
Of course, with only one IFO up and running, you don't have to look too far to see who might be a likely touch to tide the WDO over till payday.
Stewardship Ontario has lots of money, and with so many of the key  players sitting on both boards it shouldn't be hard to have a quiet word.
But what if the money came from the  Effectiveness & Efficiency Fund?
So far, $9 million has been set aside, and the say-so about who gets funded is very much in the hands of the same players who call all the other shots.
Only about half has been spent or committed so it would be tempting.
But this would all be a little too close for comfort.
The way things have been set up, it is difficult to figure out where CSR ends, Stewardship Ontario starts and WDO continues. Money-lending would just make it worse.
If the Province doesn't want to privatize the LCBO, why would it privatize the WDO?
Because, make no mistake, that's what would be happening.
Then again, the Province could recognize what a dog's breakfast this whole thing is and start again.
Blame it on the Tories. They designed this mess.