MONCTON : The Greater Moncton Wastewater Commission -TransAqua – made the right decision not to pursue a public-private partnership for the upgrade of the wastewater treatment plant.

“We are pleased that the Commission decided to build the upgrades to the treatment plant using the traditional funding model”, said CUPE NB President Daniel Légère.

“This decision will allow the Commission to keep control over the management of the wastewater plant and the cost of the project. As well, this 80 million dollar project will be a great boost to the local economy.”

“After completing a thorough due diligence study process, the Commission came to the conclusion that a P3 project would be too costly for taxpayers.”

“We are calling upon the provincial government to go through the same due-diligence study process for the P3 nursing homes projects in Miramichi and Fredericton.”

“Across the country, we have examples where P3 projects have cost hundreds of millions more than if they had been delivered publicly. Last December, Ontario’s Auditor General found that P3 projects in that province cost at least $8 billion more over the last decade than they would have if they’d been publicly delivered. Fully $6.5 billion of that was due to the higher cost of private financing.”

“The government cannot wash its hands from its responsibility and leave the care of our seniors in the hands of for-profit companies”, concluded Légère.