No More P3 Hospitals!

Fieldman contacted The Gazette after learning that world-renowned architect Moshe Safdie resigned as master planner for the billion-dollar MUHC hospital. Safdie, who designed Montreal's Habitat 67, warned that the opportunity to build "medical facilities appropriate to the 21st century is now lost." Safdie said he had to withdraw because he is opposed to public-private partnerships for hospitals, pointing out that the process is "highly problematic" and stifles innovation. Under a P3, a private consortium finances and builds a public institution like a hospital. The consortium also agrees to maintain the facility for at least 30 years, leasing it back to the government. P3s are increasingly popular with governments because they don't have to borrow money to finance public projects. Quebec Finance Minister Monique Jérôme-Forget is a staunch supporter of P3s, saying that public projects built under such partnerships avoid cost overruns. Safdie was initially hired by the MUHC before the government reached a decision to construct the hospital as a P3. Fieldman also withdrew from a bid to design a P3 project, the $335-million Abbotsford Regional Hospital and Cancer Centre in B.C.'s Fraser Valley region. The 300-bed hospital is currently under construction and expected next year. Hospital P3s, Fieldman said, are unwieldy to design because there are at least two layers of architects - those hired by the private consortium and those by the public authority. ... http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=932578fe-3619-47a9-b662-329fbee246fd [Proofreader’s note: this article was edited for spelling and typos on December 11, 2007]

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