'The experience of Highway 407 should make Ontarians leery about long-term contracts with the private sector.' - OPSEU
Toronto (9 April 2006) - The McGuinty Liberals are preparing to sign road maintenance and reconstruction contracts lasting as long as 20 years with private contractors, four times the length of a normal government term of office, says the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU/NUPGE).
The move could be bad for taxpayers and for public employees, considering the bad judgment displayed in the past by the provincial ministry of transportation, the union says.
Under the former Conservative government of Premier Mike Harris, the ministry signed a disastrous 99-year contract with a private consortium to operate Highway 407. The terms were so weak that the company has a free rein to raise tolls at will and has done so repeatedly since the contract was signed in 1999.
Road contracts, known as area term contracts (ATCs), have generally been issued in the past for five-year periods. However, the ministry is now preparing to vastly expand and lengthen these deals. Instead of five years, the contracts will last as long as 20 years and cover not only basic road maintenance but all road reconstruction and rehabilitation.
Tax dollars fuel private sector profits
Bob Houston, an OPSEU member who works in highway management in Owen Sound, says the ministry's poor record suggests that the new contracts will be a bonanza for contractors but not taxpayers. Tax dollars will fuel private profits, not necessarily produce better roads, he predicts.
"In 1999, the provincial auditor found that the existing area maintenance contracts were not even saving their 5% target," Houston notes. "The auditor said that contractors were getting paid for extra work without tender and getting MTO vehicles and equipment without having to bid against other buyers."
The minsitry's poor record should sound a warning for taxpayers, he adds.
"The experience of Highway 407 should make Ontarians leery about long-term contracts with the private sector," he added. "The 407 sucks money out of Ontarians when they drive. ATCs will suck money out of their pockets when they pay their taxes," Houston says.
The move also puts the jobs of all existing highway maintenance workers at risk. If the McGuinty cabinet approves the ATC model, the first contract could be put in place in the Owen Sound and Huntsville regions by the spring of 2007.
OPSEU is urging members and the public to sign an online petition opposing the signing of long-term ATCs by the province. Please add your voice to those who believe public oversight and public management are the only way to go for Ontario's highways. NUPGE
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