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Toronto (05 June 2014) — Hiring private companies to deliver public services and finance infrastructure projects is costing Ontarians more and delivering less, says a new short film from the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU/NUGPE).
New documentary shows "epic fail" of privatization
“When it comes to value for money, privatization has been an epic failure in Ontario, yet both Conservatives and Liberals continue to aggressively promote it,” said OPSEU President Warren (Smokey) Thomas. “Citizens who are concerned about how their money is being spent need to find out more about privatization, and our new video helps them do that.”
The film Epic Fail: A Short History of Privatization in Ontario is accompanied by a research paper documenting 20 years of privatization failures. The paper looks at case studies involving highways, information technology services, medical lab testing, hospital construction, air ambulance service and more.
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Privatization costs the public more
“We’ve paid a high price for privatization in this province and it’s time there was a serious public debate about it,” Thomas said. Noting that the NDP’s Andrea Horwath has been the only leader of a provincial party to agree to debate the issue, he added, “like corporate tax cuts, privatization transfers wealth to private investors and away from public services, boosting profits but cutting wages as it goes. We don’t need more of it.”
Written by veteran journalist Bill Gillespie, Epic Fail features interviews and commentary from representatives of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, the Ontario Health Coalition, the Parkland Institute and others.
“In Ontario, judges, auditors, consultants, journalists, government ministers and ordinary citizens have looked at case after case of privatization as it actually works in the real world,” said Thomas. “Here’s what they’ve found: it doesn’t.”
More information:
Epic Fail: a short history of privatization in Ontario
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The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE