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Govind Rao

P3 Model Proven to Deliver World-class Health Care Infrastructure - Infomart - 0 views

www.fpinfomart.ca/doc/doc_display.php?key=pr|246200|ntnp|20150924|229942557

from heather p3 privatization

shared by Govind Rao on 24 Sep 15 - No Cached
  • National Post Thu Sep 24 2015
  • The foundation of public-private partnerships, or P3s, in Canada was firmly cemented 20 years ago with the construction of the Confederation Bridge. Since then, hundreds of P3 projects have been built in almost every province, with the majority of those being health care facilities. In B.C. alone, there have been about 19 such health care projects, including two hospitals on Northern Vancouver Island currently under construction. P3 projects are also underway in Alberta, along with a new hospital in North Battleford, Saskatchewan.
  • According to Amanda Farrell, President and CEO of Partnerships BC, health care projects are well suited to P3s, because of their inherent complexity. "There are a lot of complex mechanical and electrical requirements with these buildings," says Farrell. "There are infection control issues to consider, and health care equipment has very specialized and sophisticated needs."
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  • P3s help manage a project's scope, schedule, and budget, and shifts much of the risk to the private sector. In return the public benefits from facilities that are built on time and on budget, but the value of the P3 model goes far beyond the construction of a building, it lives on for decades in the operation and maintenance of the facility. "In the past, we've seen infrastructure deficits with a lot of our facilities, because of deferred maintenance" says Farrell. "But with a P3, a standard of performance quality in maintaining the asset continues for the life of the agreement, which typically is 30 years."
  • P3s well-suited to health care environment While Farrell concedes that P3s suit some projects better than others, such as new hospital builds, she has seen a lot of innovation with health care P3s because of the collaboration between industry and clinical stake-
  • holders during the development of bid proposals. Clinical planners work with the design and construction team to optimize clinical flow and function, which means the best possible outcome for patients and clinicians. "Industry is bringing world class expertise to these projects," says Farrell, "they have embraced the model, which has led to a lot of success, and we are seeing broad industry participation, with lots of local contractors involved."
  • Kim Johnson, Chief Strategy Officer and Senior VP Commercial and Shared Services at Graham Group credits a supportive political environment and growing public acceptance of private sector involvement for the success of these large projects. "People understand that P3s provide a huge public benefit," he says, "and there is an extensive track record with these types of projects, especially in health care, where there is a critical mass of knowledge and expertise."
  • Collaboration and continual learning lead to successes Canadian jurisdictions looked at what was happening in the UK and Australia in the 1990s with P3s, and refined that knowledge for use domestically. "We've learned from those mature markets, and made it even better, and become a leader globally," Johnson adds. Experience with large projects is that they can often run into problems with design, construction and maintenance, but under a P3 model there is a single production team that is performance based, drives innovation, manages costs, and delivers the project quicker.
  • Two new Ontario health facilities have benefited from the P3 model, most notably the New Oakville and Humber River Hospitals, the prior set to open in the new few months.
  • P3s show positive results Despite the wealth of P3 experience in Canada, there are still some naysayers who say these projects end up costing the public more, and contend that government should just build these facilities on their own.
  • "We think it's simplistic to say that a P3 costs more in the long run than if government just built the projects on their own, because they are not taking into account the risk factor that is passed on to the private sector and the long-term cost of operating and maintaining facilities, which is built into the P3 agreement," says Farrell. "Under the right circumstances, P3s have been proven to deliver value for money."
  • Johnson echoes those comments and adds that government could build these projects on their own but they will end up costing more. He adds, "with a P3, you can deliver the same project in less time and at less cost."
Doug Allan

P3 gone awry GRAHAM HUGHES / THE CANADIAN PRE; Pierre Duhaime, former CEO of SNC-Lavali... - 0 views

www.fpinfomart.ca/doc/doc_display.php?key=pr|3568|ntnp|20121201|155814827

P3 privatization

shared by Doug Allan on 02 Dec 12 - No Cached
  • The massive scale of public-private partnerships - which can cost hundreds of millions of dollars - make the projects more of a magnet for greed, experts say in the wake of a corruption scandal involving construction giant SNC-Lavalin Group Inc.
  • "Since P3 contracts typically lump together designing, building, financing, maintaining, sometimes operating the facility, they tend to be honking big numbers because you're packaging so much together. To the extent that crooks are attracted to the really big-ticket items, it makes it that much more attractive as a target for misbehaviour," said Thomas Ross, director of the Phelps Centre for the Study of Government and Business at the University of British Columbia. "That's not saying it's P3, it's the size."
  • But there are measures that place P3s in a better position to protect against corruption. "Because there has been a lot of suspicion about P3s when we first started to do them, there was a big push for transparency," Prof. Ross said.
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  • The standard P3 procurement process in most cases involves an independent fairness monitor to oversee the selection phase.
  • The allegations against Mr. Duhaime and another former SNC executive have shaken the financial community and raised questions about the P3 process,
  • and Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty stood before packed ballrooms and extolled the benefits of building infrastructure through private and public funding
  • Doug Allan on 02 Dec 12
     
    P3 supporters say that skepticism about P3s has made P3s more transparent than previous infrastructure dvelopment
Govind Rao

Close to 20,000 sign union's anti-P3 petition - Infomart - 0 views

www.fpinfomart.ca/doc/doc_display.php?key=pr|246243|relp|20151117|233840207

from heather p3 hospital union Saskatchewan campaign

shared by Govind Rao on 17 Nov 15 - No Cached
  • The Leader-Post (Regina) Tue Nov 17 2015
  • Raise your hand if you've heard this phrase before: on time and on budget. Those five words are oft repeated as governments - in Saskatchewan and elsewhere - defend publicprivate partnership (P3) funding models. "On time and on budget has been a really powerful message," says Matti Siemiatycki, a professor of urban planning at the University of Toronto.
  • On Monday, the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour (SFL) delivered a petition to the government calling for the end of privatization. Close to 20,000 people signed the petition, which criticizes the government's use of P3s. Under the P3 model in Saskatchewan, nine elementary schools, a long-term care home in Swift Current, a hospital in North Battleford and the Regina Bypass are being built. SFL president Larry Hubich said the petition is one of the largest in the province's history, and is meant to help "raise awareness around the deals that are going on under the guise of public-private partnerships." Since arriving in Saskatchewan a few years ago, P3s have been controversial.
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  • Recent polling suggests the majority of people living in this province support P3s, but, as demonstrated by the SFL's petition, there is still opposition. While still relatively new here - none of the P3-funded projects are completed yet - the controversy is not unique to Saskatchewan. Ontario and British Columbia have used P3s for much longer than Saskatchewan. The debate remains polarized across the country. "It really depends on how the deals are structured," he said. "There is no such thing as sort of 'the P3 model'. In fact, there's any number of different approaches and because of that it varies in terms of impact on both the construction side of the equation and then the operation and maintenance."
  • Instead of an ideological battle, which has largely dominated any discussion of P3s in Saskatchewan, Siemiatycki said each project should be evaluated by itself to decide whether or not a P3 model is the best option. "It's really not a cut-and-dry issue," he said. "It really depends on the experience in the jurisdiction and what specific deals are coming down the pipe." Where P3s have a longer history, Siemitaycki said public debate over P3s is already starting to change. "I think the debate is now shifting to under what conditions should we use them, and what specific model should be used," he said. dfraser@postmedia.com twitter.com/dcfraser
  • Bryan Schlosser, Regina Leader-Post / The Saskatchewan Federation of Labour delivered a petition at the Legislative Building on Monday. The petition calls for an end to privatization in Saskatchewan and criticizes the government's use of public-private partnership funding models.
Govind Rao

Editorial: The Price of P3s - Canadian Architect - 1 views

www.canadianarchitect.com/...viewpoint-157

from heather p3 privatization design

shared by Govind Rao on 08 Mar 16 - No Cached
  • Govind Rao on 08 Mar 16
     
    January 1, 2015 by Elsa Lam Even as the umbrella of P3s grows larger, a mounting body of evidence is pointing to the system's flaws.... The selection process weighs heavily on the side of lowest cost, rather than the most innovative design....P3s also represent poor value for the built environment. With few exceptions, P3 projects fall short of the architectural quality that might have been achieved with a comparable budget, under a traditional stipulated-sum contract.
  • Govind Rao on 08 Mar 16
     
    Even as the umbrella of P3s grows larger, a mounting body of evidence is pointing to the system's flaws.... The selection process weighs heavily on the side of lowest cost, rather than the most innovative design....P3s also represent poor value for the built environment. With few exceptions, P3 projects fall short of the architectural quality that might have been achieved with a comparable budget, under a traditional stipulated-sum contract.
Govind Rao

Brad Wall takes a hard, pre-election turn to the right - Infomart - 0 views

www.fpinfomart.ca/doc/doc_display.php?key=pr|246243|relp|20151222|236365556

from heather p3 privatization Saskatchewan election

shared by Govind Rao on 22 Dec 15 - No Cached
  • The Leader-Post (Regina) Tue Dec 22 2015
  • Whether the Saskatchewan government is choosing the right course with public private partnerships (P3s) or rejecting changes to the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) seems debatable ... or at least, a matter of one's political perspective. Notwithstanding (or perhaps because of ) the government's staunch defence of P3s - there were no fewer than four ministers recently touting a pricey Ernst and Young report on the $90 million taxpayers are allegedly saving on the new Saskatchewan Hospital at North Battleford - there are those who point to publicsector auditors who totally disagree with their private-sector accountant brethren on the value of such P3s.
  • Similarly, Saskatchewan Finance Minister Kevin Doherty appeared to be the lone voice at Monday's national finance ministers' meeting, where he opposed the federal Liberal campaign promise to change Canada Pension Plan contributions and benefits. "It's a payroll tax on the business community," Doherty said last week. "In very, very tight economic times like this, it might not mean the difference of laying offa staffperson or two. It might mean shutting down the entire restaurant."
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  • The thing is, though, the Saskatchewan Party government opposed such "tax increases" in boom times as well, leaving one to wonder whether this government ever sees a time when low-salaried workers or the self-employed should get additional government support for their retirements. At a time of minimal wage increases, rising unemployment and growing part-time and service sector jobs found necessary by many trying to make ends meet, it does cause one to wonder whether now might be a time to set aside one's philosophical opposition to an improved CPP. In a somewhat similar vein, Doherty said he does support the Liberals' campaign promise to double infrastructure spending, but under the caveat that the Saskatchewan government be able to spend its share on P3 highways, water treatment facilities and even bypass projects and not on transit projects as the federal government would prefer.
  • It's common sense that Doherty should advocate Saskatchewan deciding for itself how best to spend infrastructure dollars. Furthermore, he has a point that while public transit may be more important for cities like Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal or even Regina and Saskatoon, "transit's not the top of our list" in Saskatchewan. But what Doherty and the Sask. Party seem to really be defending is the old federal government system under Stephen Harper's Conservatives that rewarded/subsidized governments for simply using P3 models (see: Regina sewage treatment plant) - whether the concept made any practical sense or not.
  • Doherty denies his government is "stuck" on P3s for ideological reasons, but the lengths his government has gone to demonstrate P3s work suggests quite the opposite. In fact, Premier Brad Wall seems to be swinging the Sask. Party hard to the right, just months before the April 4 vote. Be it his government's push for liquor store privatization or his recent caution on federal Liberal plans to quickly bring thousands of Syrian refugees to Canada (after being among the first leaders last summer to call on Ottawa to do more) or his hard line oil-sector support before and during the Paris climate summit, or Doherty's pronouncements on P3s and the CPP, this is a government marking its right-wing territory. It's odd timing for any government, given that in the months before an election most governing parties go out of their way to demonstrate how inclusive they are. Making it even odder is the fact that elections across the country this year - including that national vote we had on Oct. 19 - suggest an electorate that's moving to the left.
  • Wall and the Sask. Party's defence of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) dictates on the CPP, Harper's view on P3s or even pandering to the right's view on Syria at a time when the pendulum seems to be swinging the other way is a curious political strategy. We'll know about four months from now whether it was the right approach - or the one that gives the NDP the opening it has needed. Mandryk is the political columnist for the Regina Leader-Post.
Govind Rao

P3 secrecy disrespectful to taxpayers - Infomart - 0 views

www.fpinfomart.ca/doc/doc_display.php?key=pr|246243|sasp|20151024|232099804

from heather p3 privatization Saskatchewan

shared by Govind Rao on 26 Oct 15 - No Cached
  • The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) Sat Oct 24 2015
  • As Premier Brad Wall's Saskatchewan Party government heads toward an election in April, it has clearly recognized the need to mind its P's and Q's. So one can only wonder why it's not better at minding its P3s. Its justifications for its public-private partnership approach - especially when applied to the now $1.8-billion-plus Regina bypass - are becoming more specious by the day.
  • In fact, the government is in full spin mode, providing the media and even the NDP Opposition with Highways Ministry technical briefings. The problem, however, is the more information it releases in dribs and drabs, the more legitimate appear the questions it seems to be providing for the media, Opposition and the "Why Tower Road?" crowd, which is now running a TV blitz on the costs. This week, the questions seemed a lot better than the answers.
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  • It all started with Opposition critic Trent Wotherspoon, who questioned the logic of government-employed snowplow operators plowing the Trans-Canada Highway having to lift their blades as they approach the 20-kilometre stretch of bypass from Balgonie to Regina.
  • This is what will happen once the bypass opens in 2018, because all maintenance matters (plowing, grass cutting, pothole and structural repairs, etc.) for 30 years will be the responsibility of the successful bidder - a Paris-based conglomerate. It will hire Saskatchewan crews to do the work. Highways Minister Nancy Heppner was especially indignant, scolding Wotherspoon for not asking enough questions at his technical briefing and thus again bringing information to the assembly "that is not always correct."
  • The problem, however, is Wotherspoon does appear to be correct. And the Highways Ministry explanation as to why this would be the case was something-lessthan gracious. "So what?" ministry spokesman Doug Wakabayashi told the Leader-Post's Emma Graney, adding he failed to see why this was even an issue because it wasn't like "nobody's plowing" the bypass.
  • Of course the bypass will get plowed. No one is being so disrespectful as to assume the minister or her departmental officials don't understand their rudimentary maintenance responsibilities ... even if the politicians and their officials seem to have little interest in exchanging the same courtesies.
  • The question is how much more this approach might cost Saskatchewan taxpayers. It seems it will be substantially more expensive than using government crews ... although no one seems to know how much more. Notwithstanding the government spin-session briefings, that's one of the many things about the P3 bypass project ministers are not telling us. The maintenance costs are a portion of an extra $680 million (essentially, the difference between the previous bypass construction estimate of $1.2 billion and the current $1.8-billion-plus price tag) that is called "risk transfer."
  • But how much of that extra $680 million taxpayers will shell out during the next 30 years for maintenance of the measly 20-kilometre stretch of highway remains an unknown. What we do know is that the snowplowing budget for the whole province is only $29 million a year. Under the rules of the P3 bidding process, such a detailed breakdown in the bypass contract can't be released for competitive reasons, said SaskBuilds president Rupen Pandya.
  • But why, then, is the global cost of "risk transfer" so high? Well, risk transfer in P3 contracts is what the government considers to be the cost of replacing or restoring something to brand-new condition. Some in the know don't much like the concept.
  • Ontario provincial auditor Bonnie Lysak (who used to be Saskatchewan's auditor) criticized the use of risk management in her assessment of Ontario P3s. She concluded risk transfer didn't apply to any accounting reality. After all, it's not likely a school or hospital will have to be replaced because it was swept away by a tornado. It's even less likely this will happen to a bypass.
  • But it is a good way for a government to hide cost overruns and thus prove its philosophical case that P3s are less expensive than the traditional method of private companies bidding and then building an infrastructure project without taking any long-term ownership of it. By the same token it would also be a very good way of government claiming that a P3 project came in under budget if there were no cost overruns, or only modest ones.
  • "Risk transfer" may not have ever been a real cost in the P3 process - something the government might not be eager to tell you in a technical briefing. Maybe one day we will get answers. But one guesses the Sask. Party government won't be offering them before the April election.
Govind Rao

Privatization: what it is, why it matters - Infomart - 0 views

www.fpinfomart.ca/...223358003

from heather NL privatization union

shared by Govind Rao on 23 Jun 15 - No Cached
  • The Telegram (St. John's) Tue Jun 23 2015
  • With oil prices down, an aging population and high unemployment, the conservative government of Newfoundland and Labrador is looking for a silver bullet to cut costs for public services and infrastructure. Their sights are settling on privatization to be that silver bullet. What is privatization? In its most narrow sense, privatization is the whole or partial sale of public services and/or infrastructure. It can include the sale of assets, functions or the entire institution.
  • With privatization, the service or infrastructure becomes funded and/or run by a private corporation. Privatization usually includes not only a change in ownership but also a change in the priorities, responsibilities and role of the state. Advocates of privatization offer free-market competition as the path to economic and social success, with promises of cost savings, lower risk, greater efficiency and more individual choice. Privatization takes several forms in Canada, including:
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  • ? full privatization: where a government enterprise is sold in full to private investors. ? publicly funded with services and management delivered privately, sometimes unknown to the consumer. ? public funding of private services: government provides vouchers to consumers for the purchase of goods and services from private providers.
  • ? public/private partnerships (P3s): full outside contracting, management and service delivery of traditionally delivered public services such as hospitals, roads, schools and prisons. This can include private finance, design, building, operation and possibly temporary ownership of an asset. Can privatization deliver? After decades of experimentation with privatization in different forms across Canada, the data is clear on the failure to deliver on its promises and the high cost society pays - multiple costs, not only in economic terms but also quality and access to services, quality and quantity of jobs, as well as transparency and accountability.
  • Public/private partnerships (P3s) are the fastest-growing model of privatization in Canada. The P3 models vary but all include the reliance on private sector borrowing to finance the development of public infrastructure projects in a long-term lease arrangement; it is effectively leasing rather than owning and sometimes that lease includes maintenance as well. P3s cost more. Governments have always been able to borrow money more cheaply than private corporations. According to a University of Toronto study of 28 P3 projects in Ontario, P3s cost, on average, 16 per cent more than a traditional public contract. A recent auditor general of Ontario report found that P3 projects cost the province $8 billion more than if they were done under the traditional model.
  • If they cost more, why do politicians promote them? Political expediency - in P3 lease agreements the debt stays off the books or is postponed for decades. P3s hide debt - which is a dream for politicians looking for easy wins in hard economic times. It is also ideological and it is about private sector lobbying and influence. Public services are a boon to private sector deliverers with guaranteed public payments and profit margins over the long term. Supporters of privatization claim that it leads to better pricing for the public as consumers. A comparison of privately owned Manitoba Telecom Services, privatized in 1997, to SaskTel, Saskatchewan's publicly owned telecommunications crown corporation shows this to not be true. Twenty years after privatization of MTS, the cost of a basic phone with SaskTel is $8 less per month than from MTS.
  • Private corporations demand a shroud of confidentiality in order to protect their competitive position. This means that privatization reduces both transparency and accountability. An example of this is the Ontario privatization of municipal water testing which has been linked to the May 2000 bacterial contamination of municipal water in Walkerton, Ont., led to the deaths of at least seven people and the serious illness of 2,300 more from water contaminated with E. coli. The absence of criteria governing quality of testing, and the lack of provisions made for notification of results to authorities contributed to the worst public health disaster involving municipal water in Canadian history.
  • Health care is a sector where there is huge pressure on government to control cost, particularly in Newfoundland and Labrador with the aging demographic. Private interests see great profit opportunities. But in health care, for-profit does not deliver. In Manitoba, living in a for-profit long-term care facility increased the odds of dying in hospital or being hospitalized.
  • In a metadata analysis of hospitals in the U.S., Dr. Philip Devereaux, a cardiologist at McMaster University, concluded that the death rate in for-profit hospitals was two per cent higher than in not-for-profit facilities. In Alberta, the Health Quality Council of Alberta's Long Term Care Family Experience Survey in 2012 found that, on average, private and volunteer operated facilities offered poorer quality in terms of staffing levels, care of residents' belongings, and assistance with daily living activities such as toileting, drinking and eating, than publicly operated ones.
  • The scathing Ontario auditor general report indicates that there needs to be extensive and comprehensive reviews of provincial privatization projects. Until proper cost-benefit analyses and public reviews and reform of private funding and procurement models occur, governments and public bodies should place moratoria on further public-private infrastructure contracts. The citizens pay either way, but they pay more in a privatized model - either as tax payers or out of pocket.
  • The government has alternatives. The Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Labour has published a number of reports and fact sheets on the progressive revenue options open to the provincial government. There are a variety of progressive revenue options open to municipalities as well. There are no silver bullets. It is time to stop stigmatizing government and public services and recognize them for what they are: the way we pool our resources to buy services cheaper, control costs, and maintain accountability for quality.
  • his should be a debate based on evidence, not ideology. Mary Shortall, president, Unifor Local 597
Govind Rao

P3 privatization schemes deliver sewage on the floors, broken locks and windows | Natio... - 0 views

nupge.ca/...loors-broken-locks-and-windows

from heather p3 hospital quebec quality

shared by Govind Rao on 02 Sep 15 - No Cached
  • Ottawa (01 Sept. 2015)
  • McGill University Health Centre P3 received a gold award from the Canadian Council for Public Private Partnerships,” said NUPGE National President James Clancy.
  • Montreal hospital P3 privatization scheme subject of police investigation Like the issues with locks and windows at the Toronto South Detention Centre P3, sewage flooding the birthing centre is only the latest problem with the McGill University Health Centre P3. While this P3 privatization scheme won a gold award for finance from the Canadian Council for Public Private Partnerships, when police got a closer look, they started laying fraud charges. To date, nine people have been charged in connection with a $22 million fraud in the awarding of the contract for the McGill University Health Centre P3 privatization scheme. This is in addition to between 3,000 and 14,000 construction defects. 
Govind Rao

Keep North Bay Public -labour - Infomart - 0 views

www.fpinfomart.ca/doc/doc_display.php?key=pr|245142|nbng|20150915|229303726

from heather cupe Ontario p3 privatization

shared by Govind Rao on 16 Sep 15 - No Cached
  • The North Bay Nugget Tue Sep 15 2015
  • The North Bay and District Labour Council is warning that more public-private partnership (P3) institutions could be built in North Bay. The labour council and Canadian Union of Public Employees have organized a public meeting titled Keep North Bay Public for 7 p.m. Thursday at the Best Western Lakeshore. Some of the speakers include CUPE national president Paul Moist, Ontario president Fred Hahn and economist Toby Sanger, as well as Ontario Health Coalition executive director Natalie Mehra. Labour council president Henri Giroux said P3s are being built across Ontario and there is a threat more could be built in North Bay. Canadore College wants to build an ice pad. I question how is that being funded? And we're still unsure how the construction of the new Cassellholme Home for the Aged building will be paid for," he said Monday.
  • The hospital announced Monday very significant" changes are pending. No details or numbers were released. However, it's expected staff cuts and bed closures will be announced before Wednesday. The affect of a P3 institution doesn't show right away. We said eight years ago this hospital would look empty and that is exactly what is happening," Giroux said.
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  • The federal government is providing funding, but they're restricting it to P3 builds." With P3s, the private-sector partner assumes the lion's share of risk in terms of financing and construction. Giroux compares the P3 model to buying a house on your credit card instead of going to the bank for a lower interest rate. He said the North Bay Regional Health Centre is a prime example.
  • In July, Michael Hurley, president of the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions, suggested North Bay has been hard hit by hospital cuts partly because of the province's $1-billion deal with the private sector to build, finance and maintain the North Bay Regional Health Centre. As a P3 facility, Hurley said, the North Bay hospital shoulders higher operating costs than those owned outright by the province. The hospital cuts in North Bay have probably been among the deepest in the province," he said.
  • Giroux raised concern about Canadore's proposal in January after the college issued a request for expressions of interest seeking a private-sector company to build, finance and operate a multi-purpose sports facility at its Commerce Court Campus. A wise person studies history to avoid repeating costly mistakes," Giroux said at that time, pointing to a report by Auditor- General Bonnie Lysyk.
  • Lysyk's report found that public- private partnerships have cost Ontario taxpayers nearly $8 billion more on infrastructure over the past nine years than if the government had successfully built the projects itself. The report indicated companies pay about 14 times what the government does for financing, and that they receive a premium from taxpayers in exchange for taking on the projects. Giroux suggested North Bay was learning about the costs of P3sfirsthand via cuts at the North Bay Regional Health Centre. He said the hospital was closing beds and slashing services, in no small part because of long-term P3 agreements for mortgage payments and maintenance fees."
Irene Jansen

Defending Public Healthcare: P3 deals are "millstones" says Health Minister - 1 views

ochuleftwords.blogspot.ca/...millstones-says-health_30.html

p3 uk cupe

shared by Irene Jansen on 30 Aug 12 - No Cached
  • The growing crisis of public private partnership (P3) hospitals in Britain has now forced the health minister to announce that he will be sending in “hit squads” to make savings at twelve hospitals where the P3 contracts have gone “horribly wrong”
  • This is a follow up from the government's February announcement that the twelve P3 (or, as the British call them, "PFI") hospitals would get £1.5 billion in emergency funding to help them avoid cutting patient services as a result of their P3 deals.
  • we will be prepared to financially help them, solely with the burden of the PFI repayments, because it is a millstone round their neck."
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  • Last year, the government announced that more than 60 hospitals, run by 20 trusts, were facing financial difficulty because of PFI schemes.
  • £242 (about $387) for a padlock to be changed or £466 ($746) for a new light fitting
  • some of these contracts are 2,000 pages long
Govind Rao

Sask Hospital P3 a bad move for the public purse < Health care, Saskatchewan | CUPE - 0 views

cupe.ca/...pital-p3-bad-move-public-purse

from heather cupe Saskatchewan p3 hospital

shared by Govind Rao on 05 May 14 - No Cached
  • May 1, 2014
  • NORTH BATTLEFORD - The decision to privatize the building of a new Saskatchewan Hospital in North Battleford using a public-private partnership (P3) is a bad move for the public purse, says the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE). “Just before the 2011 election, the provincial government priced the new building at $100 million. Now, estimates have already ballooned to $175 - 250 million. How much more is this going to cost as a P3?,” asked Tom Graham, President of CUPE Saskatchewan. Calling into question the government’s claim that the combined hospital and correctional centre P3 announced for North Battleford to replace the aging Saskatchewan Hospital facility will save 6.3 per cent, Graham noted no business case has been released to the public. Further still, questions remain to what extent maintenance services of the building will also be privatized through a P3 contract. “Evidence from around the world and across Canada clearly shows that P3 hospitals have been proven to be a costly mistake,” said Graham.
Govind Rao

Giroux warns against P3 model - Infomart - 0 views

www.fpinfomart.ca/doc/doc_display.php?key=pr|246243|nbng|20150124|213091521

from heather p3 hospital Ontario cupe

shared by Govind Rao on 27 Jan 15 - No Cached
  • The North Bay Nugget Sat Jan 24 2015
  • The president of the North Bay and District Labour Council is warning against a proposed public-private partnership that could see a new sports facility constructed in North Bay. Henri Giroux issued a release Friday responding to a request for expressions of interest recently issued by Canadore College seeking a private-sector company to build, finance and operate a multi-purpose sports facility at its Commerce Court Campus. A wise per-s on studies history to avoid repeating costly mistakes," said Giroux, pointing to a recent report by Auditor- General Bonnie Lysyk. It's truly stunning that Canadore College and the city seem to have learned nothing from Ontario's P3 mistakes, even though the $8-billion history lesson just came out in November's auditor-report." Lysyk's report found that public- private partnerships have cost Ontario taxpayers nearly $8 billion more on infrastructure over the past nine years than if the government had successfully built the projects itself.
  • The report indicated companies pay about 14 times what the government does for financing, and that they receive a premium from taxpayers in exchange for taking on the project. The college proposes a public- private partnership to build a new sports facility. Sounds nice -a great facility without the cost and risk of building and running it yourself," said Giroux. But that myth and our reality with P3s is very different." He suggested North Bay is learning about the costs of P3s first-hand via cuts at North Bay Regional Health Centre. He said the hospital is closing beds and slashing services, in no small part because of long-term P3 agreements for mortgage payments and maintenance fees." If Canadore goes ahead with a P3 sports complex, it is the students who will pay for it through high user and tuition fees," said Giroux. If we want public infrastructure, let's do it right from the beginning and not waste money on the same old mistakes."
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  • Interested proponents have have until Jan. 28 to submit their expressions of interest to the college. Canadore president and chief executive officer George Burton could not be reached for comment Friday afternoon. But the 14-page request issued earlier this month indicates the city is supporting the P3 initiative. The Corporation of the City of North Bay wishes to investigate a partnership with Canadore College through a private-public partnership in relation to a twin-pad arena option," the document states. With the support from the City of North Bay, Canadore College is seeking a partner to build, finance and operate a multi-purpose sports facility. The successful proponent is expected to enter into a long-term land lease arrangement where a multipurpose facility would be constructed." The college is looking for the facility to offer a turf field, twin ice pads, rubberized flooring, a walking or jogging track, concessions and change rooms. Some of the activities Canadore would like these facilities to accommodate include soccer, hockey, figure skating, ringette, rugby, touch football, ultimate Frisbee, basketball, volleyball, baseball, tennis, weight room and golf. The facility would service the local and regional communities, as well as Canadore College students.
Irene Jansen

Tom Graham. P3 model costly. - 0 views

www.thestarphoenix.com/...story.html

sk p3 cupe

shared by Irene Jansen on 23 Aug 12 - No Cached
  • The provincial government's decision to pursue public-private partnerships (P3s) in the construction of the North Battle ford hospital and the new Plains outpatient surgery centre in Regina puts taxpayers at risk.
  • The experience of P3s in Canada and Britain shows that these end up costing more than traditional government financing.
  • In 2008, Ontario's auditor general revealed that the Brampton's P3 hospital could have been built for $194 million less if it had been done through
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  • The construction of the P3 hospital in Abbotsford, B.C., was estimated to cost $356 million but ended up costing $449 million.
  • traditional government financing. Meanwhile, the consortium that built that hospital will make roughly $299 million in profits over the life of the contract.
  • In Britain, where P3s originated as public finance initiatives (PFIs), the government had to resort to bailouts of seven hospital trusts that were struggling with "crippling private finance initiative debts,"
  • The government provided £1.5 billion in emergency funding so debt payments could be made and hospitals could continue to provide patient care. Despite this infusion of emergency government funds, the South London Healthcare Trust that ran three hospitals was so deep in debt that the government allowed it to go bankrupt in June.
Irene Jansen

Health Human Resources and Public-Private Partnerships: Understanding Their Contributio... - 0 views

www.longwoods.com/20089

hhr p3

shared by Irene Jansen on 23 Jan 12 - No Cached
  • &nbsp;Healthcare Quarterly, 11(4) 2008: 30-36
  • Abstract For three days in September 2007, chief executive officers (CEOs) from health systems and organizations across Canada gathered in Banff, Alberta, for the inaugural Healthcare CEO Leadership Summit. We came together to consider and debate two of the most pressing issues facing the transformation of our country's healthcare environment: health human resources (HHR) and public-private partnerships (P3s). (This gathering, from September 14 to 16, was made possible by an unrestricted educational grant from Hoffmann-La Roche Limited. HHR and P3s were selected as topics based on an extensive needs assessment carried out among participants prior to the meeting.)Frank McKenna, the former premier of New Brunswick and former ambassador to the United States, gave the plenary address at the summit. Tom Closson, the past president and CEO of Toronto's University Health Network, delivered a keynote lecture on HHR, while the president and CEO of Hoffman-La Roche Limited, Ronnie Miller, shared his insights on P3s. By listening to presentations from these experts, brainstorming in breakout sessions and openly discussing the topics as a group, summit participants arrived at several conclusions regarding the main challenges and opportunities associated with HHR and P3s. Fundamentally, we all agreed that successfully managing HHR and P3s is critical for healthcare organizations that are focused on serving patients better. In this article, I first set out some of the main elements that characterize Canada's transforming healthcare environment and that largely form the raison d'être for new approaches to HHR and for the emergence of P3s. I then present core findings that emerged from our meeting in Banff and add my views based on my own experience as president and CEO of Kingston General Hospital. Where appropriate, I also briefly present recent innovations that might serve as examples of possible routes forward.
Govind Rao

Media Release: Privatized P3 Hospitals & Projects Cost $8 Billion More - Ontario Health... - 0 views

www.ontariohealthcoalition.ca/...s-projects-cost-8-billion-more

from heather coalition ontario p3

shared by Govind Rao on 11 Dec 14 - No Cached
  • Posted: December 9, 2014
  • Privatized P3 Hospitals and Projects Cost $8 Billion More Ontario Auditor General’s Report Vindicates More than 10 Years of Work by Health Coalition: Government Must Stop P3 Privatization Now Toronto — All justifications are now stripped away.&nbsp; Ontario’s government must stop the P3 privatization of public infrastructure projects including hospitals, and put the billions in savings that result towards needed care and services. In a shocking revelation today Ontario’s Auditor General found $8 billion in higher costs due to the P3 privatization of Ontario’s hospitals and other public infrastructure.
Govind Rao

P3s set for a banner year - Infomart - 0 views

www.fpinfomart.ca/doc/doc_display.php?key=pr|246243|ntnp|20150124|213080423

from heather p3 hospital Saskatchewan

shared by Govind Rao on 27 Jan 15 - No Cached
  • National Post Sat Jan 24 2015
  • Given the pipeline of projects, 2015 could end up being remembered as the year of public private partnerships - the socalled P3s. Short lists are being completed for large and expensive projects in many provinces. There's $8 billion up for grabs in Toronto via the Eglinton-Crosstown LRT; potentially $5 billion that's set to be awarded for the construction of a new Champlain Bridge in Montreal and another $2 billion for an LRT system in Edmonton. As well, some projects will come from provinces relatively new to the world of P3s. In Saskatchewan, for example, SaskBuilds, an organization set up in 2012, has already awarded one contract to design, build, finance and maintain a new 225-bed long-term care facility in Swift Current. Plenary Health was awarded the $108 million contract in the summer of 2014 with construction of the hospital slated to finish in mid-2016.
  • That province has identified other projects, all in the pre-procurement stage, that are "being considered for P3 opportunities." Those projects range from the so-called Nine Joint-Use Elementary Schools Project, to the Regina Bypass (which could be $1 billion) to the North Battleford Integrated Correctional Facility. What's more, that province's two largest cities - Regina and Saskatoon - are also developing P3 projects. Three provinces to the east of Saskatchewan, the government of Quebec together with the Caisse de depot et placement, have announced a firstof-its-kind arrangement on infrastructure. One week ago, the two parties announced a deal whereby the fund manager will finance and construct $5 billion worth of transportation projects in and around Montreal. The Caisse is involved in financing other rail systems around the world, including Vancouver.
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  • Ontario, the province which is the largest user of P3s, has been busy already this year, having awarded preferred-bidder status to two projects: * The East Rail Maintenance Facility, being built in Whitby, about 50 kilometres east of Toronto. According to a release from Infrastructure Ontario, the facility will "support GO Transit's planned service expansion in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area." The contract was awarded to a multi-member consortium, with the developer being Plenary Group, Kiewit and Bird Capital. TD Securities was the financial adviser to the winning consortium. The cost of the project was not disclosed. * Highway 407 East Phase 11. This week, the Blackbird Infrastructure Group was named as the preferred proponent to design, build, finance and maintain the project. That project will extend the highway 22 kilometres further east from Oshawa to Clarington while providing a 10-kilometre north south link from the 407 to Highway 401. The cost of the project was not disclosed but construction of Phase 1 is set to be completed by year-end. Holcim and Cintra Infraestructuras are the developers on Phase 11. The original 407 Highway is one of the country's most famous roads: it was built by the provincial government, sold for double the cost because the government wanted to balance its budget prior to he 1999 election. It is now worth considerably more, and is a veritable licence to print money because no limits were placed on its ability to charge and collect tolls. Ontario seems to have learned from that decision: both Phase 1 and 11 will be publicly owned.
Govind Rao

Province says P3 saves $16M on Swift Current long term care facility - Regina | Globaln... - 0 views

globalnews.ca/...urrent-long-term-care-facility

from heather p3 Saskatchewan ltc

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  • May 6, 2015
  • REGINA – The province said its first public-private partnership (P3) development is on time, on budget, and will actually save more than 16 million dollars.“I think these results that you’ve seen today (Tuesday), from this report demonstrate that this particular project being built in a P3 model does deliver to tax payer,” said Justice Minister Gordon Wyant.Wyant released a Value For Money Report Tuesday, and said that the long-term care centre in Swift Current will save 13 per cent under the P3 model compared to a traditional model.
Govind Rao

Paul Davis, P3s and the democratic deficit | TheIndependent.ca - 0 views

theindependent.ca/...p3s-and-the-democratic-deficit

from heather NL p3 ltc privatization

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  • July 21, 2015
  • Does an outgoing regime, in its dying days, have the right to forfeit our collective future?
  • Premier Davis is hell-bent on getting P3 (public-private partnership) contracts signed to build long-term care facilities before the provincial election in November. In April he announced his intention to go the P3 route, however it is only now we are hearing that the Conservatives are ready to sign these risky deals in October, prior to the election.
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  • They cost more — much more
  • P3s are about profit, not care
  • This article is part of an ongoing series produced by members of the Social Justice Cooperative Newfoundland and Labrador in collaboration with The Independent.
Govind Rao

Nursing home workers present minister with petition against P3 - Infomart - 0 views

www.fpinfomart.ca/doc/doc_display.php?key=pr|245142|nbml|20150923|229859336

from heather NB cupe privatization p3

shared by Govind Rao on 23 Sep 15 - No Cached
  • Miramichi Leader Wed Sep 23 2015
  • Apparently unmoved by a commitment from senior government officials to work hard to ensure their wages, benefits, pensions and job security is protected once a new privately operated nursing home is built in the city, unionized nursing home staff took to the streets in protest once again on a chilly Monday morning. Dozens of workers clad in their now-familiar, red anti-P3 shirts marched down Water Street from the Miramichi Senior Citizens Home to the constituency office of Tourism Minister Bill Fraser with Twisted Sister's "We're Not Gonna Take It" providing the soundtrack. This latest demonstration comes just days after Social Development Minister Cathy Rogers and Fraser, the Liberal MLA for Miramichi, said they were committed to doing whatever they could to address some of the labour-related concerns that have been front and centre since the 240-bed facility was announced in May.
  • Nurses and support staff from Mount St. Joseph Nursing Home and the Senior Citizens Home have been worried that the transfer to the new private building will mean they will have to start their careers from scratch and compete for jobs in a wider pool of candidates despite have decades of experience in some cases. They have been vocal about these issues throughout the summer and after Fraser eventually emerged from his officer a little before 11 a.m., the demonstrators quickly presented him with a petition signed by 10,000 people who are against instituting a P3 model in the new home. Fraser spoke to the group gathered outside his office for several minutes and committed to presenting the petition in the legislative assembly on their behalf.
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  • Wayne Brown, the president of the New Brunswick Council of Nursing Home Unions, which falls under the Canadian Union of Public Employees umbrella, said the members of the locals representing the two nursing homes don't plan on going away without assurances their issues will be dealt with. "We're getting more and more pressure on him and I know he has to tow the party line but he also has to step up to the plate for those folks who are his constituents," Brown said.
  • "So we're certainly not done yet - it all hinges on that RFP that is coming out and my feeling is that they are certainly revisiting that RFP, so maybe they're looking at something ... hopefully they will blink on this one because there are ways for them to save face." During a town hall meeting organized by government officials in Miramichi last Thursday, Rogers and Fraser stopped short of guaranteeing the union concerns would be addressed in full.
  • Fraser said he would like to engage in deeper dialogue with officials from the Senior Citizens Home about how they could partner up to help ensure that programming like Meals on Wheels and adult daycare are enhanced in the transition to the new place. In terms of the labour concerns, Fraser said the government team is "well aware" of them and said high-level discussions have taken place to discuss how to mitigate some of them and potentially work some of them into the RFP.
  • But on the P3 model, he said the government has to make strategic changes to the way it has traditionally done things in order to trim expenditures and free up efficiencies. The government has made a commitment to building any new nursing homes moving forward using a P3 model and it just so happens that the Miramichi facility is first in line for this new way of doing things. That setup, he stressed, allows the government to dictate the standards of care without adding to its financial burden and it is clear the province doesn't have any current plan to back away from that strategy.
  • Fraser said people have to "get past the fact that we're going to an RFP" for the new nursing home. "The province is in a fiscal situation that is at the brink - the interest payment on our debt alone is in excess of $650 million a year ... that's not the debt, that's the interest payment," Fraser said.
  • "Think of the good things we could do if we could get that under control, and this home would not be possible any other way without going through the RFP process to ensure the best economic return on our dollar and for the best care, safety and comfort of our seniors." There are presently three private nursing homes in New Brunswick and all of them are operated by Shannex. Fraser said the main reason the province is committing to this project is to alleviate some of the strain being put on the delivery of front-line health services at the Miramichi Regional Hospital, where many seniors are forced to reside until a new nursing home bed opens up. He said the community "needs to come together" on this.
  • But both ministers said they were actively listening to what the workers were saying and would attempt to work some of those issues into the request for proposals which will ultimately lead to the proponent that will build and maintain the home. Speaking last Friday, Fraser said once again he understands how staff would be nervous about the situation given that a new entity will be coming in to run the new building.
  • "Are we going to guarantee everything? Probably not, but are we going to do our best to address as many of the issues as we can? Absolutely we are," he said. "Because at the end of the day we want our residents to be cared for by people they know in an environment they love, and I'm confident that's going to happen." As for the CUPE membership, Brown said they aren't willing to compromise on the issues they've outlined and he hopes the government understands why.
Govind Rao

Fact sheet: What provincial auditors have said about P3s | Canadian Union of Public Emp... - 0 views

cupe.ca/l-auditors-have-said-about-p3s

from heather p3 privatization cupe

shared by Govind Rao on 22 Jun 15 - No Cached
  • Jun 18, 2015
  • Over the years, provincial auditors across the country have questioned the financial rationale for using public-private partnerships (P3s) to build public&nbsp;infrastructure. Provincial auditors, or auditors general, are independent officers of legislative assemblies who audit government finances to ensure that public monies are spent in a proper and accountable&nbsp;manner. Few P3s have been reviewed by provincial auditors.&nbsp;But when they do examine them, provincial auditors find that P3s cost more than traditional public projects, use questionable methodology, lack accountability and do not transfer risk to the private&nbsp;sector.
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