TRURO – A new report from the Auditor General of Ontario is ringing the alarm bell on the cost to taxpayers of P3 projects – and the McNeil Liberals better take heed.
That warning comes today from CUPE Nova Scotia President Danny Cavanagh, who says, “This is just the latest in a series of Auditors General who have made it quite clear that these so-called ‘Public-Private Partnerships’ are costing taxpayers a bundle.
“In Ontario alone, P3’s have cost the public at least $8 billion in unnecessary spending over the last decade,” according to their top bean counter.
Cavanagh says the McNeil Liberals should implement an immediate moratorium on privatization and P3 projects and reveal all the costs related to any P3 contracts we now have on the books, like the dozens of P3 schools.
CUPE has long argued that when service delivery is public, the priority is on quality service delivery. In corporate hands, the priorities shift to profits, which come either through higher costs or by cutting corners on staffing, service levels and safety. “The premier is preaching fiscal restraint. We keep getting told there’s no money for services, there’s no money for poverty reduction. We have to cut everything to reduce the deficit. By providing full disclosure on past P3 projects here, we are convinced we will learn the same lesson they learned in Ontario. Shouldn’t fiscal restraint start with this,” asks Cavanagh.
CUPE is Nova Scotia’s community union, with 19,000 members providing quality public services we all rely on in every part of the province, every day.