http://fernwoodpublishing.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/loxley1-1024x685.jpgRenowned Economist John Loxley spoke to a packed house at Mondragon Bookstore and Coffeehouse about the dangers of P3s, or Public-Private Partnerships. If you aren’t sure what P3s are, then you should stop reading this and start reading John’s book. In short, P3s are when governments award juicy contracts to private corporations to manage public services. Deemed as the “next frontier” for economic expansion by money-hungry suits, everything from bridges, highways, public schools, prisons, and water has been contracted out to corporations, who often take governments and tax payers to the cleaners. http://fernwoodpublishing.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/loxley3-1024x685.jpg
John’s audience was clearly angry over the City of Winnipeg’s freshly-inked thirty-year contract to Veolia Canada to manage its sewage treatment facility, and his eloquent, balanced and critical insights did not fall on deaf ears. Too bad no one from City Hall made it out that night.