NIAGARA FALLS — Three out of four Ontario residents agree that communities are better off when governments and not private companies provide public services, according to poll results released by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Ontario.
“Dalton McGuinty and his government will proceed at their peril to enter into public private partnerships (P3s) for infrastructure renewal or to contract out public services,” said CUPE Ontario president Sid Ryan prior to the opening of the union’s 42nd annual convention here. “Ontario residents agree overwhelmingly that public money should not go into corporate profits.”
A poll of 600 adults conducted for CUPE Ontario earlier this month by Strategic Communications showed that:
- 78% agree that, as a matter of principle, public money should not go into corporate profits
- 75% agree that it’s better to have government, not private companies, providing public services
- 62% agree that privatization of public services usually ends up costing more and providing less
- 50% agree that the main way private companies can offer to provide services more cheaply is by paying lower wages and fewer benefits to workers.
The results are considered accurate to within ±4%, 19 times out of 20.
“Over the next few days, hundreds of CUPE activists from across the province will be developing an action plan to fight this government’s privatization agenda,” Ryan said. “They’ll do it knowing that their friends, neighbours and co-workers are on the same page when it comes to protecting public services.”
CUPE represents 210,000 workers in Ontario’s schools, universities, hospitals, municipalities, utilities, long-term care facilities, home care and social services.
For more information, contact:
Sid Ryan, President, CUPE Ontario, 416-209-0066 (cell)
Pat Daley, CUPE Communications, 416-616-6142 (cell)
For the results of the privatization poll and CUPE Ontario’s Convention highlights, see the attached documents.
