Kingston hospital to cost $164.9 million more as P3 -- Thomas

KINGSTON, ON, June 3, 2014 /CNW/ - OPSEU President Warren (Smokey) Thomas will hold a news conference about privatization in Kingston as part of a province-wide tour.

Where: Lake Ontario Park: Kingston, Ontario, K7M 9G9
When: Wednesday, June 4, 2014
Time: 11:00 a.m.

The Providence Care Mental Health and Rehab Hospital in Kingston provides a perfect example of a privatization failure in Ontario. It cost $164.9 million, or nearly 38 per cent more to build the Hospital under a public-private partnership than it would have under traditional public procurement. The project would have cost $435.9 million, but instead rose to a staggering $600.8 million using a P3.

Despite the epic failure that privatization has been in Ontario, it remains a policy of the PCs and Liberals, and the provincial election campaign offers voters the opportunity to reject it, according to the Ontario Public Service Employees Union.

"The PC and Liberal governments have been caught siphoning billions of public dollars to private investors. Every time, it's the same story. Quality of service goes down, cost to the public goes up, and transparency and accountability go missing," said OPSEU President Warren (Smokey) Thomas.

Thomas is travelling to cities across Ontario to raise the issue that he calls the "Pay More, Get Less" plan. He's asking voters to pose the question to all candidates in the provincial election: "What are you going to do about privatization?"

Thomas cited a few of the privatization failures documented in an OPSEU publication, Epic Fail: A Short History of Privatization in Ontario. [opseu.org/epicfail]

"Voters know they pay more and get less. The real scandal is privatization. Just think Ornge. Think gas plants. And think of The Providence Care Mental Health and Rehab Hospital," said Thomas.

SOURCE: Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU)

Chris Cormier, OPSEU Executive Board Member 613-921-5346; Lyndsay Chapman, Communications 705-826-0015