City’s contract with U.S.-based garbage firm stinks: union leader

The union that represents city workers has renewed its call to bring waste collection back in-house after the current provider moved its headquarters to the United States.

GFL Environmental, which collects waste in Winnipeg, announced in January it moved its executive headquarters from Vaughan, Ont., to Florida.

Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 500 president Gord Delbridge called for the city to reconsider its contract with the company.

“(The company) essentially wants to move closer to (U.S. President Donald) Trump. Here’s a guy touting a 51st state and we’re supporting that by funnelling money to the U.S.,” Delbridge said Friday.

GFL is a Canadian-incorporated company with offices across North America. In a news release announcing the move, GFL chief executive officer Patrick Dovigi said the U.S. has grown to represent more than two-thirds of its revenue and the move broadens its ability to work in U.S. markets.

Delbridge believes the city should instead support local firms and said it could save taxpayers money in the long-run.

The city’s contract with GFL expires in 2027.

Delbridge has been calling for the city to take over waste collection for several years. In 2024, the union leader took a photo of a $350-million yacht, reportedly owned by Dovigi, to a water and waste committee meeting in response to a report discussing the city’s model for waste collection.

“Winnipeggers shouldn’t be paying for this guy’s yacht,” he said. “We should keep our jobs here locally. We should support local business here. We should provide good jobs here.”

The imposition of tariffs on Canadian goods by Trump and the toxic political climate in that country have prompted the city to re-evaluate some of its contracts.

The city has several contracts with U.S. suppliers, said Colin Fast, a spokesperson for Mayor Scott Gillingham. Over the past year, staff have been reviewing those contracts for price and supply risks and they’ve reported to the finance committee on a regular basis about how U.S. tariffs could affect city costs, Fast said.

In-house collection has been studied several times. As recently as 2024, Coun. Brian Mayes (St. Vital) put forward a motion to designate an area in central Winnipeg for city-operated waste collection.

The motion fell flat.

Coun. Ross Eadie, the current chair of the water and waste committee, supported Mayes’s motion and still approves of the idea.

Eadie (Mynarski) said the city would have more control over the delivery of the service if it operated it. The measure would cut down on additional money spent on private contracts.

“Right now, we’re paying an extra person to supervise and oversee contracts and making sure that they’re meeting all the details of their contract and on and on,” Eadie said. “That same person can actually be the manager to make sure our service is providing what we tell the citizens we’re delivering.”

Eadie takes issue with GFL moving its office to the U.S. and said their employment standards are subpar to Canada’s.

GFL said in its news release the company will continue to grow its Canadian footprint and maintain its Canadian jurisdiction of incorporation.

nicole.buffie@freepress.mb.ca