A public private partnership in Maple Ridge, BC will cost taxpayers about $35 million more than necessary, says a report commissioned by the municipality.
The report confirms the findings of an earlier CUPE investigation into the failed scheme to redevelop the community’s downtown. It concludes that two years were wasted on a potential partnership, that council made decisions contrary to the advice of consultants, and that it failed to “fully consider alternative courses of action.”
“This is a wake-up call to every municipality in the province,” says CUPE BC president Barry O’Neill. “How many other P3s have gone unnoticed? How many millions of dollars have been squandered?”
Clearly, the district was so ideologically committed to the P3 concept that it was willing to do virtually anything to push the deal, O’Neill says.
The report confirms the findings of an earlier CUPE investigation into the failed scheme to redevelop the community’s downtown. It concludes that two years were wasted on a potential partnership, that council made decisions contrary to the advice of consultants, and that it failed to “fully consider alternative courses of action.”
“This is a wake-up call to every municipality in the province,” says CUPE BC president Barry O’Neill. “How many other P3s have gone unnoticed? How many millions of dollars have been squandered?”
Clearly, the district was so ideologically committed to the P3 concept that it was willing to do virtually anything to push the deal, O’Neill says.