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(TORONTO) - A gathering of some 600 highly-placed officials from municipal and provincial governments and corporations at a conference on so-called p0075blic private partnerships’ is nothing more than a front for selling off public services and jobs.

The P3 ’99 Conference became the target of labour protestors at a downtown Toronto hotel today, after it was learned Newfoundland Premier Brian Tobin, former Ontario Premier Bob Rae and other high ranking government officials were attending the two-day event.

CUPE National President Judy Darcy told the demonstrators, “meeting inside this hotel today are some of the biggest corporations, bankers and consulting companies in the world 00770068006f are planning how to sell off our public services to the private sector.

“Azurix Corporation 007700680069ch is owned by Enron, which bought out Philip Services 006900730020not going to tell that conference that after Philip took over the waste treatment plant in Hamilton, 185 million litres of raw sewage were dumped into Hamilton harbour.”

Said Darcy, “Andersen Consulting is not going to tell the conference that it created a v0069rtual’ social assistance system in Spain with multi-media kiosks instead of people to deal with the poor. That’s exactly what they want to do with the new call centres in Ontario.

“Borealis Investment, an arm of the OMERS pension plan, is not going to tell the conference that P3 schools in Nova Scotia 003500350020of them now 007400680072eaten the future of public education for our children.”

Darcy said, “it is also disgraceful that we have elected public officials taking part in this conference. They have no mandate to privatize public services. If they don’t believe in public services, they should get the hell out of public office!”

The P3 conference is being held by the Canadian Council for Public-Private Partnerships, a front for the world’s largest corporations. The conference attempts to find ways to privatize literally any public service 007300630068ools, hospitals, roads, social services and even water.

For background on P3s and why they don’t work, click here.

For information: John McCracken, Morna Ballantyne

November 23,1999
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