February 23, 2017 Lisa…

February 23, 2017 Lisa Kingsmore, Senior Policy Analyst Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change Environmental Policy Division Resource Recovery Policy Branch 40 St. Clair Avenue West, Floor 8 Toronto Ontario M4V 1M2 Submitted online via Environmental Registry RE: Comments on EBR# 012-9381, Proposed Transitional Operating Agreement between the Minister of Environment and Climate Change and the Resource Productivity and Recovery Authority under the Resource Recovery and Circular Economy Act, 2016. Dear Ms. Kingsmore: On behalf of the Canadian Beverage Association and our member companies who operate in the Province of Ontario, please find below our official comments on the Proposed Transitional Operating Agreement (EBR# 012-9381) in regards to the Resource Productivity and Recovery Authority, (the “Authority”). The Canadian Beverage Association (CBA) represents the majority of non-alcoholic liquid refreshment brands and companies in Canada. CBA members directly employ over 7,700 Ontarians and generate over $3 billion of value added annually to Ontario’s economy. Our industry was the founder of Ontario’s blue box program in 1986 and continues to be a staunch supporter of the program. Beyond Ontario, CBA and our member companies are actively involved in the management and governance of beverage container recycling programs across Canada. Given our expertise and experience in product stewardship program management, we sincerely hope that the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MOECC) thoroughly reviews and considers our comments below to ensure the Authority’s operating agreement allows for the most optimal outcomes in resource productivity and recovery. If you have any questions and require further information, please do not hesitate to contact me. Yours sincerely, Jim Goetz President, Canadian Beverage Association jim@canadianbeverage.ca  GENERAL COMMENTS Overall, CBA and our member companies are supportive of the draft transitional operating agreement and the guiding principles which it is based: strong accountability, transparency and good governance with clearly defined roles and responsibilities. Our industry has substantial experience in managing and operating product stewardship organizations across Canada, and we profoundly believe that the principles above are critical to the success of the Authority in Ontario. Our comments below provide our perspective on the roles and responsibilities outlined in the agreement as well as the proposed mechanism to ensure the greatest level of accountability and transparency. SPECIFIC COMMENTS ON THE PROPOSED TRANSITIONAL OPERATING AGREEMENT ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES: We firmly support the roles and responsibility outlined in the agreement which clearly delineates the Minister of Environment and Climate Change’s (the “Minister”) absolute authority to craft, formulate and implement policy and regulatory tools. We also support the Minister’s authority to review operations and appoint an administer in circumstances which require it. As outlined, the Authority’s roles and responsibilities should be focused on cost-effective day-to-day operations and the fulfillment of its assigned tasks to provide oversight, compliance, enforcement, and the operation of a data clearinghouse (i.e. data registry). We see no reason why the Authority should be distracted and obligated to fulfill any other roles and responsibilities under the new regulatory regime provided by the Waste Free Ontario Act, 2016. Therefore, it is critical that no new roles and responsibilities are added to the final draft of the transitional operating agreement. Also, as per the Minister’s regulatory control over the Authority, we encourage the Minister to develop a regulation which requires at least five Board Members of the Authority’s eleven to have significant private sector experience. Further, we propose that these Board Members have experience in industries with a strong track record of product stewardship, including the consumer packaged goods and the food & beverage industry. ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY: Our industry overwhelming supports the proposed accountability and transparency tools and actions outlined in the draft agreement. Specifically, we are supportive the following:  Drafting and approval of a business plan to guide the Authority’s plan to provide cost-effective management of the future producer responsibility regime in Ontario  Requiring public consultation on the authority fee setting  Requiring the Authority to release an independent final audit annually publicly  Requiring the Minister to lay a copy of the Authority’s annual report before the Legislative Assembly  Allowing the Auditor General of Ontario to conduct a value-for-money audit of the authority Also, we encourage the Minister to obligate the Authority to place a specific emphasis on consultations with stakeholders who provide the funds to operate the Authority (i.e. producers). Transparency of the fee-setting process is the utmost priority as to date there has been little detail about the Authority’s cost recovery model. To ensure a cost-effective operating structure we would encourage the Minister to ensure that the Authority’s operating costs be capped annually to prevent “mission creep” on projects and tasks (e.g. quasi-policy development) not within its regulated roles and responsibilities portfolio.   Dispute Resolution Mechanism: We firmly encourage the MOECC to develop a clearly defined and timely process for handling disputes between the Authority and stakeholders impacted by its activities. For example, there should be an established process for reviewing the Authority’s fee-setting process by an independent third party if a certain threshold of stakeholders disputes the rationale used to set fees. Protection of Producer’s Data: We firmly encourage MOECC to ensure that the Authority is regulated to use the strongest available data protection on the market to ensure the security of the proposed data registry. Our industry’s data is highly confidential, and any security breach or unauthorized data disclosure would have significant economic and commercial implications on CBA members’ businesses. CONCLUSION In closing, CBA and our members look forward to continued dialogue and consultation regarding the Authority as its developed and shaped through new regulations and policies. Achieving significant improvements in resource recovery in Ontario is a marathon, not a sprint and will require close cooperation among all stakeholders. As an environmental leader in the consumer packaged goods industry, we look forward to drawing on our industry’s extensive experience and innovative ideas required to build the Authority’s capacity and know-how to successful execute its mandate and implement a producer responsibility regime in Ontario. -END-

[Original Comment ID: 208580]