Furlong will ask premier to put services to people ahead of private corporate profits
St. John’s (15 Feb. 2006) - Carol Furlong has issued a statement opposing the position taken by Ray Dillon of the St. John's Board of Trade on public-private partnership initiatives (PPPs).
The president of the 21,000-member Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Public and Private Employees (NAPE/NUPGE) says PPPs have a long history of failure under successive governments.
Furlong says she also plans to write Conservative Premier Danny Williams outlining the longstanding opposition by NAPE to the concept of PPPs, including those related to highways.
“There is a finite number of dollars available for public services," she notes.
"If a portion of the total budget has to be channeled off for corporate profits, this can only lead to erosion of the quantity and quality of public services available for the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.
"This experiment has been tried in other provinces, and over time has been deemed to be a failure. By way of example, British Columbia privatized highway maintenance several years. While initially savings were realized, once government sold off its equipment and was captive to a few companies who could bid on the service, the cost dramatically increased while at the same time service deteriorated."
Furlong says she will ask Williams to reject calls for public-private partnership from groups such as the Board of Trade whose primary focus is their own corporate profits, not the public service needs of citizens.
"Taxpayers elect governments to ensure our public service needs are met, not to enhance the profits of corporations," she adds. NUPGE
More information:
• Flawed, Failed, Abandoned - 100 P3s pdf
• Financing Canada's Hospitals - Alternatives to P3s pdf
• Public Private Partnerships - A Bad Idea pdf
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