P3s NOT THE ANSWER
The (Sask. premier Brad) Wall government claims their plans to build 18 new public-separate schools in nine joint buildings will save taxpayers $30 million using the P3 model (Premier Wall, Leader-Post and Star Phoenix, Oct. 23). Don’t believe premier Wall for a minute.
P3 (public-private partnerships) records on Canadian schools are dismal to say the least.
Calgary’s Hamptons School (Tirion Developments) had a leaking roof just six months after opening, causing the Calgary Board of Education to spend $100,000 in repairs.
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In March 2009, Alberta’s 2007 18 K-9 schools came under fire by Alberta’s acting auditor general, saying that “the government has refused to provide financial details on the deal even though it was signed almost six months ago.”
The acting auditor general then concluded the P3 savings were overstated by $20 million.
New Brunswick’s provincial auditor (1998) report exposed that Moncton’s lease-back school cost nearly $900,000 more than a publicly financed and owned project.
Nova Scotia’s auditor general stated that “the contracts for Nova Scotia’s P3 schools were nothing more than a licence to print money for the private partners”.
After building 38 of 50 P3 original schools, Nova Scotia reverted to traditional public sector methods for future school construction at an estimated savings of $2 million per school.
Even though local school boards are leasing many of these schools, they are charged outrageous amounts for after-school activities, are often limited to only one day a week usage and are charged for all maintenance and repairs even though the owners use the schools for entrepreneurial promotions etc.
In many cases usage for day cares, medical services and elder services is replaced by private money-making programs.
P3s successful? Google the following for a reality check: “Private Profit, Public loss: The Community impact of Alberta P3 Schools,” “The Devil in the Details: The P3 Experience in Nova Scotia Schools.” “New Brunswick’s P3 graveyard,” “Why P3 schools are D3 schools,” “Risky business II Hidden costs, Security breaches, poor design.”
Provincial auditors from many provinces have discredited P3s as an answer to public infrastructure.
Joyce Neufeld,
Waldeck, Sask.
KILL C-68, STEPHEN
For many years and elections before becoming the prime minister, Stephen Harper promised over and over again that he would get rid of C-68 when he formed government.
Stephen Harper did kill the long gun registry. Killing the long gun registry is not the same as getting rid of C-68.
Under C-68, the firearm owner must be registered and possess a valid government licence as long as he or she owns a firearm or else he or she breaches the criminal code.
In other words, possessing a firearm without a valid PAL can land you in jail, as well as having all of your firearms confiscated by the government and ending up with a criminal record.
At this time, there are over 600,000 firearm owners whose PALs have expired. These are the paper criminals that Harper has created by not repealing C-68 or by not taking the recreational firearm control section out of the criminal code.
I believe that lawful firearm use regulations should be under provincial legislation. Hunting and safe firearm use is already under provincial jurisdiction. The federal government should only be dealing with criminal use of firearms.
Owning a firearm lawfully should never be deemed a criminal act just because a paper licence expires.
We all know that C-68 was a waste of over $2 billion and had no impact on crime.
All it did was create criminals out of lawful, taxpaying Canadians.
Did you know that only child molesters and pedophiles are registered in Canada besides lawful firearm owners?
Why are firearm owners put into the same category as pedophiles?
When will this prime minister fulfill his broken promise made way back when? Or will he make that same promise again before the next election?
Inky Mark, former MP,
Dauphin, Man.
