In promoting their public-private infrastructure bank, the Trudeau Liberals point to the Canada Line P3 as a success. But that’s not the whole story.

In fact, the Canada Line shows what can go wrong when governments hand power over public infrastructure to private interests. Profit, not public need, ended up driving key decisions in Vancouver.

It’s a cautionary tale that needs to be told as the Liberals forge ahead with an infrastructure plan that favours privatization. For-profit ownership and operation is a central plank of the Canada Infrastructure Bank model.

In this new report, Taken for a ride: The community impact of the Canada Line P3, CUPE examines the price the community paid for this privatized transit project. While the Canada Line was a welcome expansion of the region’s transit system, the P3 project’s main legacy is a case study in governments ceding decision-making power to the private sector – in the process sacrificing their accountability to the public.