Public-Private Partnerships (P3s) are “all the rage” these days.
Increasingly, throughout Canada, and around the world, public sector managers and politicians are looking to private corporations to provide infrastructure and services that were formerly provided publicly.
Contracts with terms that stretch over several decades are being entered into for a vast array of government projects and services. What does this change portend for democratic values and democratic governance?
Because P3s are, first and foremost, commercial relationships, they are fundamentally changing the values and processes of democratic governments. The thesis of this presentation is that P3s are undermining democratic public institutions because the commercial relationships are inherently secretive, unaccountable and often very risky.
