For Immediate Release
May 27, 2004

Toronto - The provincial government has put on the table a major for-profit takeover of virtually all public institutions warned a group of coalitions and unions today at a Queen’s Park press conference. The groups revealed that the new Ministry for Public Infrastructure Renewal has put out a discussion paper that contemplates unprecedented privatization.

The paper proposes nine models of infrastructure funding, ownership and operation. The majority of the options in the paper involve controversial privatization through so-called "public private partnerships" or "P3s". Various types of P3s are being considered for virtually all public institutions including schools, hospitals, municipal infrastructure, water systems, and transportation systems, among others. In the P3 models, public services are turned over to for-profit corporations to run as profit seeking enterprises and the public rents them in long term leases. The government‚s discussion paper proposes a variety of P3s with escalating levels of for-profit control.

"The government has put on the table the for-profit takeover of almost all public institutions," stated Kim Fry of the Ontario Coalition for Social Justice. "If allowed to proceed, this unprecedented privatization would fundamentally change our society, reducing equality of opportunity and democratic control."

"The Liberals were elected on a platform of fundamental change and renewed democracy. It would be a complete violation of their mandate if they try to move forward with this proposal for a wave of P3s across the public sector," declared Wayne Samuelson, President of the Ontario Federation of Labour.

"This discussion paper has been subject to a shockingly brief and biased consultation process. At the consultation I attended on water infrastructure, the vast majority of invited participants were private sector representatives with a vested interest in brokering the potential contracts," noted Eduardo Sousa of the Council of Canadians.

"We are demanding that the government conduct a full public consultation on this issue before proceeding any further with privatization," added Michael Shapcott of the Toronto Disaster Relief Committee "Social infrastructure is a public service that ought to be controlled by citizens and run on a non-profit basis."

"The evidence is that for-profit companies will drive up costs and reduce quality in our social services," concluded Ethel Meade of the Ontario Health Coalition. "There are viable public options for infrastructure renewal that this government must investigate fully before even considering transferring control of public assets off to for-profit companies in more expensive P3 deals."