A new report by British Columbia’s Auditor General has debunked nearly every benefit claimed so far for public private partnerships (P3s). The Auditor General’s report on a Vancouver Coastal Health Authority (VCHA) project adds to earlier criticisms by his counterparts about failings in P3 hospital projects in Quebec and Ontario. The BC report, released on [...]
Keith Reynolds’s Blog Posts
Keith Reynolds is a National Research Representative for the Canadian Union of Public Employees. He has done policy work for all three levels of government. Keith maintains a Facebook page in honour of BC cheese.
British Columbia Auditor finds costly failings in Province’s first hospital P3
May 23rd, 2011 · Keith Reynolds · 3 Comments · Privatization, P3s & public services, Transparency & accountability
Have we completely bought the idea that “There Is No Alternative”?
May 18th, 2011 · Keith Reynolds · Comments Off · Energy
Once again, over the last few weeks Canadians have had energy costs on our minds. Prices at the pump rocketed up to nearly $1.50, while the price of a barrel of oil was actually going down. What can we possibly do? Industry officials blame unrest in the Middle East and floods on the Mississippi. Former [...]
Tags: Petro-Canada
Open government a Cabinet secret declares BC Minister
May 7th, 2011 · Keith Reynolds · Comments Off · Transparency & accountability
I love reading Estimates debates in the legislature. It is a rare opportunity for Opposition critics to grill their assigned Cabinet Ministers at length. Sometimes the oddest things come out. On Wednesday the NDP Critic Doug Routley was questioning the Minister for Citizen Services and Open Government Stephanie Cadieux. It turns out that following up on [...]
Lessons for Ottawa from Victoria, Lessons for Victoria from Ottawa
May 5th, 2011 · Keith Reynolds · Comments Off · Electoral reform
Many Canadians have expressed fear about what our new national government, a majority elected by a 39% minority, will do now that it has four years of real power. For those concerned Canadians, British Columbia offers a lesson. BC’s government has discovered from an independent study that their HST is not revenue neutral. It will [...]
Tags: elxn41·Federal Election
Day of Mourning for killed and injured workers
April 25th, 2011 · Keith Reynolds · 1 Comment · Employment & labour
It’s worth remembering that April 28th is the day of mourning for workers who were injured or who have lost their lives as a result of work-related incidents or occupational diseases. Last year 143 BC workers lost their lives. That’s up from 121 people in 2009 at the height of the recession. On average, more [...]
Tags: Health and Safety·WorkSafe BC
There is no Goldilocks in democracy
March 24th, 2011 · Keith Reynolds · 1 Comment · Electoral reform
Oh boy, we’re in for a lot of democracy here in BC this year. Federal election in May and probably an HST referendum in June. My money is on an October provincial election if Christy Clark thinks the numbers are right. Then a vote for councils and school boards in November. And that is just fine [...]
Tags: democracy·Federal Election
Reading the tea leaves in a Cabinet shuffle
March 15th, 2011 · Keith Reynolds · Comments Off · Privatization, P3s & public services
Figuring out what the changes in a Cabinet shuffle mean is a lot like reading tea leaves: you can find just about anything you can imagine. Christy Clark’s first Cabinet announced yesterday is no exception. That being said, there are some things that stand out as pretty strong likelihoods. First of all it looks like [...]
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How flipping equity in P3s boosts profits and ends up with the projects being run from Channel Islands tax havens
March 9th, 2011 · Keith Reynolds · 1 Comment · Privatization, P3s & public services
Just like good stilton cheese, public private partnerships (P3s) were imported to British Columbia from the United Kingdom. And like good stilton, in the UK P3s are starting to smell. In 2003, as part of its privatization agenda, BC’s government created Partnerships BC as a private company owned by the Ministry of Finance. Partnerships BC’s [...]
Tags: ABN Ambro·Bilfinger·John Laing·Macquarie·Partnerships BC
The Frontier Centre’s dubious numbers about public sector wages
February 28th, 2011 · Keith Reynolds · 2 Comments · Employment & labour
As if the Fraser Institute needed any help getting its message in the media, there are now a number of Fraser clones that are preaching the same message. One of those clones, Winnipeg’s Frontier Centre for Public Policy, has gotten a lot of ink in the last few weeks with a report arguing that salaries [...]
Tags: Donner Foundation·Frontier Centre·public employees·unions
When everything you ask for isn’t enough – BC business calls for more cuts to labour standards
February 24th, 2011 · Keith Reynolds · 2 Comments · Economy, Employment & labour
Last November BC’s Labour Minister quietly announced his Ministry was conducting a review of employment standards and the minimum wage. There has been virtually no news coverage on this. That’s too bad because the results could be important for BC workers. The recommendations could offer a blueprint for BC’s new Liberal Premier to be chosen [...]
