Carney’s has been sold — again.
The union representing workers at Carney’s Waste Systems says employees have been informed that Green For Life Environmental Inc., based in Ontario, will be taking over the Squamish company.
Chip Dhaliwal, business representative of the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 115, said workers were told about the purchase Tuesday morning.
“It has been confirmed,” said Dhaliwal.
However, workers haven’t been told when the company will be taking over operations, he says.
Green For Life was founded by Patrick Dovigi, who was listed in Canadian Business in 2017 as the 97th most wealthy person in Canada. He is reportedly worth about $1.08 billion.
Green For Life operates across Canada and the U.S.
Dhaliwal says that there aren’t any concerns at the moment regarding layoffs or pay cuts.
Carney’s has been tightly run ship with little or no excess staff, so it’s improbable people will be fired as a result of the acquisition, Dhaliwal said
Dhaliwal also added that the union’s collective agreement should shield workers from any reductions in pay.
“They can’t come in and cut wages,” he said.
The news comes close to a year after Gordon Smith of Smithrite purchased Carney’s from its founding owners.
Carney’s, which was established in 1965, has been something of a point of pride for locals, given its long history and success in the Sea to Sky Corridor.
At the time of last year’s purchase, Smith said that he didn’t have any intentions of making any changes to the company at all.
However, it remains to be seen if Green For Life will be maintaining the same philosophy.
Green For Life and Gordon Smith did not immediately return requests for comment.
Dhaliwal said the people who work at Carney’s are local residents who will retire with good pensions. He said he hopes good-paying local jobs will continue with the new ownership.
“With [founder] Owen it was a local company — even with [the most recent owner] Gord,” he said. “It’s probably important to the people that live there [in Squamish] that that carry on.”
