Transportation and Public Works Minister Gail Shea today announced that she will be introducing legislation in the next session of the Legislative Assembly that will mandate the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission (IRAC) to independently review and approve rate adjustments to the provincial Waste Watch program.
“Many factors are accounted for when rates are set for households and businesses,“ said Shea, Minister Responsible for the Island Waste Management Corporation. “These include all of the costs associated with providing education to residents, visitors and business; collection and transportation; capital infrastructure, administration and final disposal costs for residential and commercial sectors. IWMC is designed to operate on a full cost-recovery basis, so all of these factors have to be accounted for when determining the rates for the program,” Shea noted.
In order to allow a more open and transparent process with respect to rate adjustments, the Province will review any necessary legislative and regulatory steps required to have rates reviewed and approved by an independent body, in this case the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission (IRAC). Such a measure will allow Islanders to be more aware of the costs associated with the program and provide advance notice of possible rate adjustments. Having rates reviewed by IRAC will also better enable groups such as rental property owners to have input in the process as well as plan and adapt to rate levels in the operation of their businesses.
“Having rates for Waste Watch regularly reviewed by IRAC will provide a forum for Islanders, businesses and groups to have a voice about the costs and operation of the program,” observed Shea. “It will also help improve transparency and accountability to Islanders by giving them a greater awareness of the costs associated with responsible waste management practices.”
Shea advised that work is currently underway to implement this process and that it’s anticipated that IRAC would be in a position to review rates of the Island Waste Management Corporation by the end of 2005.
Island Waste Management Corporation (IWMC) is the provincial Crown Agency that manages and administers solid waste management services province wide. Among these services are delivering the Waste Watch program, Canada’s only province-wide source separation waste management system. Since the Waste Watch program went province wide in 2002, nearly 600 million pounds of organic waste has been diverted from Island landfills, offering significant protection to the Island’s groundwater supply and positioning Prince Edward Island as a national leader in responsible environmental stewardship practices.