Tomlinson needs to make it right, says councillor
El-Chantiry wants city to stop dealing with firm until landfill problems fixed
Tomlinson Group shouldn’t get more business from the city until the company owns up to the financial and environmental shame created by the Springhill landfill scandal, a city councillor says.
“Councillors need to do something about this, and yes, I agree, we should be closing the doors on Tomlinson until they fix this problem or at least sign an agreement with the city that they will take full responsibility for the contamination they create and to open their books to the city,” West Carleton March Coun. Eli El-Chantiry said in an interview Friday.
The findings in a scathing audit of the Springhill contract were so troubling auditor general Ken Hughes suggested the city consider blocking Tomlinson from future deals.
The audit revealed the city did a poor job of overseeing the contract and suggested Tomlinson failed to disclose its financial transactions, which inform the value of royalties paid to the city. The audit alleges there hasn’t been paperwork provided by Tomlinson to indicate how much money the city should be collecting from the contract.
Tomlinson, which recently started discussions with the city about Springhill, refutes the audit’s allegation about not providing documentation to the city.
The former Osgoode Township contracted Tomlinson to run the Springhill dump in 1996, and leased land to the company for a construction and demolition recycling facility in 1998. Municipal amalgamation in 2001 forced the City of Ottawa to inherit the agreements.
El-Chantiry, vice-chair of Ottawa’s powerful finance committee of council leaders, criticized the former township for signing a bad deal.
“Obviously, Tomlinson offered candy and lemonade with that deal because they got everything that they wanted, plus the candy, plus the lemonade, from Osgoode Township,” El-Chantiry said. “That is shameful for the township of Osgoode to sign a deal like this. What’s more shameful is for Tomlinson, who is supposed to be a good corporate citizen and group of businesses … to treat the city that way.”
This newspaper reached out to two former Osgoode council members. Dale Harley declined to discuss the Springhill matter and Doug Thompson, who was elected mayor after the Tomlinson agreement was finalized, said he was in the process of recalling the reasoning behind the original deal two decades ago.
It’s up to Ottawa council to show that it’s protecting property taxpayers, El-Chantiry said.
“I’m not trying to be a jerk about this,” he said. “We need to protect the taxpayers’ money. The money they give us is nothing near what’s going to cost to clean up the site.”
The city, which has only collected $6.3 million in royalties over 21 years, could be on the hook for up to $8 million to close the dump outside Metcalfe, plus additional expenses to monitor and remediate long-term impacts of a dump.
Capital Coun. David Chernushenko said blacklisting a company of Tomlinson’s size and scope may not be as simple as it sounds.
“Let’s try other remedies first,” Chernushenko said. “You have to be realistic about this.”
Still, the chair of the environment and climate protection committee pulled no punches: the audit’s conclusions — particularly the revelation Springhill landfill is filling up far sooner than city officials expected — were damning.
“It’s a shame it takes an auditor’s report to get a company that does an awful lot of business with the city to start providing information the city asked for,” Chernushenko said.
Like its signature red and white trucks, Tomlinson is everywhere in Ottawa. From the construction of the combined sewage storage tunnel, the Alta Vista Hospital Link and the Àdawe pedestrian bridge to the reconstruction of Sussex Drive and countless road repaving jobs, the company has done work in virtually every corner of the city.
As of March 31, the value of its active contracts with the City of Ottawa was nearly $275 million.
Tomlinson is also hungry for a bigger piece of the LRT construction pie. It’s part of the Confederation Transit Group, a consortium that includes Spanish transportation conglomerate Ferrovial and rail company Colas. The group is one of three finalists bidding for the Confederation Line expansion, a $2.5-billion job to extend light rail.
Contracts between the City of Ottawa and Ottawa Greenbelt Construction, a sewer and watermain builder Tomlinson acquired in 2012, totalled $28.6 million last year. From 2014 to 2017, the contracts exceeded $187 million.
The Tomlinson Environmental Services division secured about $2.8 million in contracts with the city between 2014 and 2017, while Tomlinson Ready Mix secured about $700,000 in municipal contracts, according to annual City of Ottawa procurement reports.
Tomlinson Group also does a fair bit of business with the provincial government. Since 2013, the R.W. Tomlinson division has been awarded six Ministry of Transportation capital contracts for work on provincial highways in the City of Ottawa, totalling $63 million.
According to its website, the Tomlinson Group is a third-generation, family-owned business. Bill Tomlinson is the chairman and Ron Tomlinson is the CEO. It also owns the Centurion Conference and Event Centre on Colonnade Road and Datashred Security, a mobile document-shredding company.
The Tomlinson Family Foundation last fall donated $1 million to the Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa to help with a major clubhouse renovation. A slo-pitch tournament organized by the foundation last year raked in $241,000 for city charities.
Tomlinson is also a regular sponsor of the mayor’s Christmas celebration at Ottawa City Hall, which last year drew 8,000 people.
On the political front, the company donated $750, the maximum allowed, to the 2014 campaigns of Mayor Jim Watson, Innes Coun. Jody Mitic, Beacon Hill-Cyrville Coun. Tim Tierney, Osgoode Coun. George Darouze and Rideau- Goulbourn Coun. Scott Moffatt.
Darouze, who represents the ward where Springhill is located, said, “I don’t think $750 will colour my decision” when it comes to taking action. He said the city should hold Tomlinson responsible for the promises in the Springhill contract, not ban the company from doing business with the municipality.
The Springhill audit will be on council’s June 27 agenda.