Canadian Court Orders Hazardous Waste Landfill Divestment

A Canadian government court has ordered CCS Corp. to divest a hazardous waste landfill following the purchase of Complete Environmental Inc.

The Ottawa-based Competition Tribunal determined that CCS, a unit of the Calgary, Alberta-based Tervita Corp., must divest the proposed Babkirk hazardous waste landfill site, which Complete Environmental owned. The site is near Fort St. John, British Columbia.

The Competition Bureau, an independent law enforcement agency aiming for fair competition, had asked the Competition Tribunal to dissolve the acquisition or force the divestment of some assets. The Competition Bureau argued to the Tribunal that the acquisition “would lead to a substantial prevention of competition in the market for the disposal of hazardous waste within northeastern British Columbia.”

"Today's ruling sends a clear message to companies who seek to eliminate competitive threats through acquisition," said Melanie Aitken, commissioner of the bureau, in a news release. "The bureau has prevented a multibillion dollar company from entrenching its monopoly for hazardous waste disposal in northeastern British Columbia."