Letter to the editor from Local 500 President Mike Davidson – Re: Winnipeg Free Press article - Public-private partnerships on the agenda for Katz in Ottawa
October 23, 2012 at 6:16 PM
P3`s huge risk: Over the past few days, Winnipeg's Mayor has been in Ottawa lobbying for more tax dollars for Public-Private Partnerships (P3) calling them a "saviour for cash-strapped cities with crumbling infrastructure".
Public-private partnerships or P3s are about giving private sector investors high returns with low risks, at the long-term expense of taxpayers and the public. In many cases, P3s result in increased or additional costs to the public, as well as risk public health.
For example, on a contract totalling $11.6 million, the Charleswood Bridge P3 was found to have cost taxpayers $1.4 million more than if the bridge was built publicly.
There are those who claim the only way we can meet the urgent need for infrastructure investments, is to turn to the private sector. But the experience in Canada and around the world has shown that P3s and privatization is bad for public health, taxpayers and the environment.
At the end of the day, P3s and privatization means that profit goes into the hands of large corporations, many of them foreign. This money should be kept and reinvested locally, and the way to do that is to ensure that our services and infrastructure remains publicly owned and operated.
