HALIFAX – Canada’s largest union says the on-time, under-budget sewage treatment plant that is up and running in Halifax is proof that P3’s are not the way to go.
CUPE Nova Scotia President Danny Cavanagh says, “The first plant in Halifax’s new sewage treatment system is up and running, and the project is on track and under budget. It’s the latest proof that privatization would have been the wrong choice for the region’s harbour cleanup.
”CUPE and the Council of Canadians, along with local environmental groups, were instrumental in a local water watch committee that waged a long fight to stop the harbour cleanup from being privatized through a P3. The city’s Harbour Solutions project came close to being privatized to one of the world’s largest water multinationals, Suez, and look at the fantastic results,” he says.
CUPE wants to remind taxpayers that after many twists and turns, city council tore up a P3 deal it had signed with a Suez-led consortium, after Suez refused to assume responsibility for meeting environmental standards.
“After the deal was cancelled, Halifax Mayor Peter Kelly told the media that going public would save taxpayers millions of dollars, and he was right,” says Cavanagh.
The overall project is three-quarters done. A second plant will be up and running next spring, with a third plant coming online in November 2008.
For information:
Danny Cavangh John McCracken
President, CUPE Nova Scotia CUPE Communications Representative
(902) 957-0822 (902) 455-4180 (o)