Public Private Partnerships (P3)

CUPE research briefs and submissions on P3s.

Say no to P3s and the privatization of public services

November 26, 2008 01:56 PM Around 300 union activists from across New Brunswick rallied in front of the Legislative Assembly in Fredericton Nov. 26 to say no to public-private partnerships and the privatization of public services.

Government P3 policy must require full disclosure

November 5, 2008 03:50 PM Saskatoon: Secrecy and a lack of financial transparency are two of the most common characteristics of public private partnerships (P3s), says Kathleen Corrigan, a CUPE researcher in British Columbia and chair of the Burnaby Public School Board.

President of country’s largest union to offer advice to SaskParty government

November 5, 2008 12:22 PM Saskatoon: The president of the largest union in the country will be in Saskatoon on Thursday, November 6, to address delegates at CUPE’s Solidarity Conference about the growing threat to public services posed by public private partnerships and other forms of privatization.

CUPE to hold news conference about P3 school proposal

November 3, 2008 05:00 PM Saskatoon: Kathleen Corrigan, the chairperson of the Burnaby School Board, along with representatives of CUPE Saskatchewan will participate in a news conference on Wednesday, November 5, to discuss their concerns with using public private partnerships (P3s) to finance major capital projects such as a public school in the city. They also will identify key requirements for provincial government policy on this issue.

NB P3 summit primes members

October 17, 2008 04:35 PM CUPE members are leaving the New Brunswick anti-P3 summit pumped with information and primed for action.

MacDonald planning to fleece NS taxpayers

July 18, 2008 11:39 AM The Nove Scotia premier is touting the Confederation Bridge as a P3 success story. To date, the project has cost taxpayers $45 million more than it would have through public financing.

Lessons Learned: The UK experience of privatization of public services

October 31, 2005 10:44 AM The Ontario Federation of Labour organized a delegation to visit the UK to learn about their experience with public-private partnerships, called "private financing initiatives." Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty has been getting advice from the Blair government on PFIs. This report summarizes the findings of the OFL delegation.

Flawed, failed, abandoned: 100 P3s, Canadian & International

April 22, 2005 11:10 AM "The report, Flawed, Failed, Abandoned: 100 P3s, Canadian & International Evidence, documents dubious P3 projects in the health, municipal and education sectors, providing examples in provinces across Canada, as well as in Australia, England, Scotland and Wales. It details a litany of cost overruns, legal disputes, bankruptcies, environmental disasters, and shoddy construction. Many P3s have been abandoned outright as the steep terms required by the for-profit companies become clear.

Secretive, risky, unaccountable: How Public-Private Partnerships are bad for democracy

January 27, 2005 02:12 PM Public-private Partnerships are Bad for Democracy Healthy democracy depends on full information for citizens, full participation by citizens, independent advice from public servants, accountability to elected representatives and responsibility to electors. Public-private partnerships (P3s) undermine all of that. With many P3s, the imperatives of investor certainty, commercial confidentiality, private ownership of information and long term contracts are subverting the normal checks and balances of our democratic system. This presentation to the 2004 annual conference of the Parkland Institute in Edmonton by CUPE Research Representative Blair Redlin outlines some of the reasons why. The theme for the conference was "Uncommon Dreams: Visions of the Public Good".

Recreation P3s gone wrong: Lessons for the City of Oshawa

August 12, 2004 04:26 PM This brief was submitted to Oshawa city council as evidence to support CUPE Ontario's opposition to a Public Private Partnership for a new downtown sports and recreation facility.

World Bank: Privatization hits the wall

June 24, 2004 11:43 AM A recent report by the World Bank confirms that privatization has failed to address the needs of the poor worldwide.

Re-building strong communities with public infrastructure

April 26, 2004 04:09 PM CUPE Ontario Division Submission To The Ontario Ministry Of Public Infrastructure Renewal In Response To The Discussion Paper On Infrastructure Financing And Procurement - "Building A Better Tomorrow - Investing In Ontario's Infrastructure To Deliver Real, Positive Change.

IMF warns against "off-book borrowing" for PPPs

April 26, 2004 10:53 AM For years CUPE has pointed out that public-private partnerships are a dangerous scam to hide government debt while propping up corporate profits. It seems the [[http://www.thisismoney.com/20040425/nm77403.html|International Monetary Fund agrees]]. The IMF is set to criticize the British government's use of P3s to deliver vital public services.