FREDERICTON – The New Brunswick Liberal Government should reassess its endorsement of public-private partnership (P3) infrastructure constructions now that its federal counterpart has signaled a move away from a P3 funding model for large infrastructure projects.

“It seems the federal government will no longer require provinces and cities to consider P3 arrangement for projects over $100 million. This is a positive move and we urge the New Brunswick government to follow the same path”, says Daniel Légère, president of the New Brunswick Division of the Canadian Union of Public Employees.

“We don’t need any more P3 nursing homes, schools, hospitals and roads in this province. We urge the provincial government to follow the lead of the federal Liberals and build the Miramichi nursing home and other projects using a public model, which we know costs less.”

“Premier Brian Gallant should listen to the 10,000 New Brunswickers who signed a petition against a P3 nursing home in Miramichi. The provincial government won’t have the excuse anymore that Ottawa is forcing them to a P3 screen.”

“Across the country, we have seen many examples where public-private-partnerships have gone south. Auditor Generals from across the country, including New Brunswick, gave P3 projects bad reviews. Public-private-partnerships cost more. Last December, Ontario’s Auditor General found that P3 projects in that province cost at least $8 billion more over the last decade than if they would have been publicly delivered.”

“Since the provincial government is desperately looking for savings, walking away from P3 projects would save hundreds of millions to the taxpayers”, concluded Légère.