It’s municipal election season in six provinces and territories, and CUPE members are working to elect pro-public local governments and school boards. In Manitoba, CUPE faced an incumbent mayor who wants P3s for everything from water to police stations.
While Mayor Sam Katz was re-elected, his P3 arguments don’t hold water. A recent article from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, published just before voting day in the Winnipeg Free Press, argues that selling off assets won’t build a stronger city.
Drawing on examples of privatization failures in the mayor’s own back yard, the authors show how privatization costs more and delivers less effective services. The article, co-authored by CUPE communications and research representative Dennis Lewycky, is on the web here.
University of Manitoba economics professor John Loxley also went on the record in the Free Press, with an editorial making solid financial arguments against privatizing water and other public services. Prof. Loxley, who has worked with CUPE on analyzing P3 schemes, is completing a book on the economics and finance of P3s.