The unsettling bit is that despite the claim by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty that such partnerships “have been proven generally to lower costs, speed up delivery times and add flexibility to infrastructure projects,” the jury is still out on whether they actually benefit taxpayers. Even TD Financial, which supports the idea in principle, acknowledged in a research report that Canadian experience in this area is too limited to get an accurate reading of value for money.
If the federal government truly believes that public-private partnerships are the greatest thing since sliced bread, ministers and officials should be able to produce convincing answers to the questions most frequently raised about these deals. Right now, the debate is taking place between those with vested interests in the outcome, such as private sector representatives interested in future contracts, or public sector unions worried about lost jobs.
Is it really less expensive to have the private sector build and operate infrastructure? There have been a number of high-profile cases – the recently opened Channel Tunnel Rail Link in Britain being one – where the initial price looked good, but changes made along the way raised the ultimate cost to taxpayers. In the British case, the government refused a further outlay of cash, but helped out with more generous financing, a less transparent way of increasing taxpayer support. Our government needs to produce some objective evidence to support its claims of cost efficiency.
Will a private company provide the same level of public services, or better? That is always the initial claim. But again, there are examples of where the private sector has failed miserably to meet agreed targets or discriminated against certain income groups.
The case of Aguas Argentinas in Buenos Aires comes to mind. This private sector consortium took over water services for the city and agreed to expand the water and sanitation services to certain levels over a period of time. They failed for a host of reasons and this failure was particularly evident with the sewage system in low-income areas. It turned out that it was cheaper for the consortium to expand the water supply than it was to improve the sewage system, and so the company, for profit reasons, concentrated on only one of its targets.
An exception? Perhaps. But again, the Canadian government needs to look at the evidence and produce a convincing rebuttal.
Will a private company be accountable to its customers? When public services like water or power supply are privatized, the result is often a monopoly. If customers are dissatisfied with the service, there is nowhere else to turn. If governments fail to produce results, their customers can vote them out. But that sort of leverage is lacking with a monopoly provider. The federal government must explain how it plans to safeguard accountability in the public-private partnerships it is creating.
Is the public sector always less efficient than the private sector? This is one of the key arguments made to support public-private partnerships.
However, studies in Britain have shown it is not always the case, and recently the British government changed the bidding process to allow public bodies to bid on contracts alongside private bidders.
...
http://www.reportonbusiness.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20071129.wdrohan1130/BNStory/robColumnsBlogs/
Note: http://www.reportonbusi...
Why The Rush On p3s?
Posted on Friday, November 30 at 13:16 by N SayContributed By
Topic
Article Rating
(0 votes)
Options
Stumble It!Comments
view comments in forum
Page 1
---
Dave Ruston
For example CGI and CGI alone are paid $100's of millions of dollars each year by most, at least 17, if not all by now, Canadian insurance companies to handle all their claims and litigation...do you think CGI and CGI alone being chosen by all these Canadian insurance companies to represent their financial interests, who compete against each other for business, might have something to do with CGI having extensive access to and the power to alter Canadians private and personal government records, including their very personal and private health records and financial records, etc...through their extensive government contracts, which just happen to play a major role in deciding most insurance claims and lawsuits against insurance companies? Or that CGI have very significant contract relationships with federal and provincial justice departments that give them a further significant advantage over the public concerning insurance claims and lawsuits before Canadian courts?
We have indisputable evidence proving that CGI are fraudulently altering Canadians private and personal records held by the government, including health records, to serve their private and financial interests and that of their clients and to obstruct justice, and ask yourself why ALL these competing insurance companies choose CGI and CGI alone and are paying them an extreme amount of money to represent their financial interests, which they used to do themselves and the only answer that comes is that the insurance companies know CGI has a major advantage that they don't have on their own because CGI can illegally and fraudulently access and alter the very records and evidence that decide insurance claims and lawsuits in Canada, because the government in Canada has let CGI/the fox into the hen house and is allowing CGI to seriously violate the rights of Canadians to serve CGI's and their clients private and financial interests, which the government in Canada are paying Canadians taxdollars to CGI to do.
Canadians need to get private corporations out of government and public service in Canada because as long as private companies are running our government, as CGI are running entire departments of our government as the evidence shows, it doesn't matter what party is in power because we will not have a democratic government that serves Canadians.
CGI are rapidly taking over the federal government in Canada, as well as provincial and local governments too, as the evidence proves, as well as the media and law enforcement, including our national security programs, and health care, etc...to an alarmingly extreme degree.
They also have major contracts with Canada Post and Air Canada and most if not all financial institutions in Canada, and on and on, while being extensively involved with the private sector as well, including the oil industry, etc...in the very near future Canadians are going to wake up to find CGI own their country and it isn't theirs anymore, as the evidence supports is a very real threat to Canadians at this time, keeping in mind that CGI have a very close and significant relationship with the U.S. government and specifically the Bush administration, as the evidence proves.
The fact is that it has already become to a great degree irrelevant what party we vote for because CGI has taken over our government and public service to such a degree those in power are not even truly in power any more, though the evidence supports Harper and his party are the biggest threat to Canadians at this time based on the evidence that they are involved with CGI's take over of our country, which began with CGI's major partnership with the Alberta Conservative government where Harper came from.
When you communicate with the government at this time it is very likely that you are talking to a CGI employee, or a CGI "member" as CGI calls them, who sign a very strict employment contract with CGI committing to put the interests of CGI first above all else, and who are all given stock in CGI to ensure their loyalty to CGI above all else, though Canadians are never told that they are talking to and giving their private and personal information to an employee of a private company, and in fact as we have learned it very much appears CGI employees are told to lie and deny being CGI employees if confronted about who they actually work for, as we have personally experienced CGI employees working for the government doing, which should immediately raise questions about why CGI would instructs it's employees to lie to the Canadian public about who they really work for to intentionally mislead them if they are not doing anything inappropriate?
Canadians and our country are seriously at risk because of private corporations, especially CGI, being allowed to take over the government and public service in our country and we need to take action against this immediately and ensure major changes are made and rules are put in place to protect democracy in Canada and Canadians rights and our country, etc...
In short, like foreign investment, PPPs are fraud and a racket
It makes no difference who puts up the investment, the payments, service and profit charges must come out of the same pockets and if the private venture fails, the public must pick up the pieces.
Major corporations are not using their own monies for investments, but borrow, then transfer the service charges on the public in the form of tax deductible business expenses. If they use their own monies, they, again charge interests, so the public pays through the nose, one way, or another.
The record of PPPs, all over the globe, is disastrous and if any government goes for them, they must be crazy, criminal, or bucking for post politics directorships.
Ed Deak.