A public town hall meeting will be held on Monday, May 6, from 7 to 9 p.m. to be held at the Greenwood Inn & Suites in Corner Brook, NL. The topic of discussion will be the Ball Government’s controversial use of public-private partnerships (P3s) to build public infrastructure. Special guest speakers will include Angella MacEwen, CUPE national economist.
P3s are a type of privatization in which the private sector forms a consortium that will design, build, finance, operate and maintain each facility. Eventually, what we call the “P3 effect” will kick in and hospital administrators will be forced to make cuts. But the only parts of the budget that are not tied up in contracts for 30 years are the number of beds and staff.
Why are private companies financing these projects? Why hand over maintenance and operation to private interests? What are the interest rates we are borrowing at? What are taxpayers really on the hook for?
“There is a lack of access to information, hiding the true costs of these deals,” says CUPE NL President Sherry Hillier. “Newfoundlanders and Labradoreans should demand new disclosure requirements and reporting standards for P3 contracts.”
The presentation will be followed by a question and answer period.
