P3 promotion agencies ignore reports by auditor generals

Letter: Partnership is an empty buzzword

creynolds Own Your NL, Privatization

The following letter to the editor was published on Monday, November 5, 2017, in The Telegram. The St. John’s Board of Trade offered nothing new in their Oct. 27 letter to the editor (“P3 model unduly criticized”) that hasn’t already been said by consultants and lobbyists that stand to profit from these misguided deals. When public-private partnerships (P3) promoters use …

Letter: No evidence P3s are cost effective

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The following letter to the editor from CUPE NL President Wayne Lucas was published in The Telegram on September 201, 2017. Provincial government Ministers Steve Crocker and Dr. John Haggie have taken exception to the alarm bells CUPE is ringing about the higher costs of P3 deals.  In a letter to the editor of Aug. 26, the ministers claimed two …

Corner Brook town hall calls for new health facilities to stay public

creynolds Article, Own Your NL, Privatization

Participants at a town hall meeting in Corner Brook, NL were clear their community needs a new hospital and expanded seniors’ care – but that it must stay public. The forum focused on the Ball government’s proposal to privatize a long-term care facility and hospital in Corner Brook by using a public-private partnership (P3). Plans are in the early stages, and …

10 problems with P3s

creynolds Own Your NL, Privatization

Across Canada, some governments are promoting privatizing public infrastructure and services through public-private partnerships, also known as P3s. In a P3 deal, private corporations make a profit from financing, operating and/or maintaining public infrastructure projects. Municipal or provincial governments, school boards or health authorities sign contracts with private corporations to design, build, operate and sometimes finance infrastructure and deliver services …

What provincial auditors have said about P3s – Fact Sheet

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Over the years, provincial auditors across the country have questioned the financial rationale for using public-private partnerships (P3s) to build public infrastructure. Provincial auditors are independent officers of legislative assemblies who review government finances and decision-making to ensure public funds are spent in an efficient and accountable manner. A number of P3s have now been reviewed by provincial and federal …

CUPE and Government of Newfoundland and Labrador representatives discuss P3 contracts for infrastructure

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CUPE Newfoundland Labrador President Wayne Lucas and CUPE Senior Economist Toby Sanger met with the Honourable Kathy Bennett, Minister of Finance, and the Honourable Al Hawkins, Minister of Transportation and Works, on March 28 to discuss the dangers of using private-public partnerships (P3s) to build infrastructure. CUPE firmly believes that P3s are not in the best interest of workers, our …

Private financing wrong direction for Canadian infrastructure bank

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A report written by CUPE Economist Toby Sanger warns that private financing of the proposed Canada Infrastructure Bank could double the cost of infrastructure projects, and shows how the bank can instead provide low-cost, public financing for much-needed projects. The study was published by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives in advance of the federal budget, where more details of the proposed …

When private goes public – community wins

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Five years ago, the town of Conception Bay South, Newfoundland and Labrador, was facing problems with its privatized solid waste collection. Complaints were on the rise, and costs were headed in the same direction. In 2011, the town council voted to bring the service in house, ending 30 years of contracting-out. The CUPE local representing the town’s workers had worked tirelessly …

Five times provincial governments failed with P3 hospitals

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A warning for taxpayers in Newfoundland and Labrador Time and time again provincial governments are forced to admit they were wrong to use public private partnerships (P3s) to construct health care facilities, costing taxpayers billions of dollars more than they would spend if those hospitals were publicly owned and constructed. Auditor Generals, researchers and journalists across Canada continue to report …

Letter: Red lights flashing — will Liberals heed the warning?

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The following letter to the editor by Wayne Lucas was published in The Telegram on February 2, 2017. In her Jan. 26 article entitled “N.L. Liberals follow PCs to P3s, but details scanty,” reporter Ashley Fitzpatrick shines a light on the Liberal government’s lack of transparency in their plans to use a P3 to design, construct, finance and maintain a …