EDMONTON – Provincial government documents uncovered by Alberta’s NDP indicate the province acknowledges operating hospitals under a “Public Private Partnership” model would be more expensive to taxpayers.
The same documents indicate the Prentice government is considering building a new tower at the Royal Alexandra hospital in Edmonton under this model.
Marle Roberts, the Alberta President of the Canadian Union of Public Employees says, “Privatizing the operation of a hospital costs more to taxpayers, but takes those costs off the books; it’s a way to hide the true state of finances.”
Roberts pointed to the recent attempt to build “P3” schools as a reason the Prentice government should abandon this approach.
“No private business can run a public service as well as in-house front line employees,” said Roberts. “When it comes to something as sensitive as a hospital – it’s time the Alberta government realized that and abandoned these sketchy schemes that never work and costs taxpayers more in the end.”
For more information, contact:
Lou Arab
Communications Representative
780-271-2722
larab@cupe.ca