Posts by Keith Reynolds

About Keith Reynolds

Keith Reynolds is the former National Research Representative for the Canadian Union of Public Employees. He has done policy work for all three levels of government. His areas of expertise include privatization, P3s, and municipal government and finance. Follow Keith on Twitter

Construction industry accuses Partnerships BC of conflict of interest

Sep 15, 2012

By Keith Reynolds

I think that Philip Hochstein, president of the Independent Contractors and Business Association, is probably more hostile to the interests of working people than just about anybody else in British Columbia. So when I find myself agreeing with him on something, my fingers twitch at the keyboard. But that is just what happened with the… View Article

Bank of Canada President says to end privatization of gains and socialization of losses

Aug 24, 2012

By Keith Reynolds

Here in BC Bank of Canada President Mark Carney’s speech to the Canadian Auto Workers convention got less attention than it seemed to get back east. It deserves more attention. The biggest news coming out of the event was not in the speech itself but in the question period afterwards. Here Carney told the CAW… View Article

Silencing the outriders, silencing democracy

Aug 13, 2012

By Keith Reynolds

Since taking power federally in 2006, the Conservative government has undertaken a continuous attack on civil society organizations. One of the government’s first actions was to cut support for women’s organizations that lobbied or did research on the status of women. Environmental organizations have been accused of acting in the interest of foreign powers. Revenue… View Article

The staggering future costs of the BC government’s contracts

Jul 27, 2012

By Keith Reynolds

As usual, there has been quite a hubbub surrounding this week’s release of British Columbia’s Public Accounts. The provincial auditor says the provincial deficit is $520 million more than the government admits. And then there is the Auditor General’s review of finances at the legislature that found “substantial irregularities.” But all of the above is… View Article

How the rules got fiddled to make sure a public private partnership got pushed through

Jul 12, 2012

By Keith Reynolds

In 2008 British Columbia’s controversial public private partnership (P3) program was in trouble. With P3s private companies put up financing for public services and infrastructure and in exchange get to manage the projects with guaranteed profits for decades. The cost of private finance was always higher than if government borrowed the money itself, but in… View Article

Why do the citizens of Maine have a voice on free trade deals but Canadians don’t?

Jun 22, 2012

By Keith Reynolds

Canada is now facing east and west as it attempts to negotiate trade deals with both Europe and in the Pacific region. Both of these new deals are being negotiated in secret. There is no room for the public to know what is being traded away or to express an opinion. Does negotiating a trade… View Article

So why is all the good writing on privatization of liquor distribution in the business press?

May 17, 2012

By Keith Reynolds

Privatization of government assets is always a controversial subject. One side says the genius of the marketplace will cut costs and improve efficiency. The other side says costs will go up and the public will lose control. One thing both sides should agree on, however, is that the process should be transparent. Thanks to Business… View Article

BC’s P3s promise “eye-watering” profits” for private investors. And more of them coming

May 9, 2012

By Keith Reynolds

Two stories that came out on the same day last week should raise concerns about where the BC government continues to go with public private partnerships (P3s). The government announced it was going to build two hospitals on Vancouver Island in Campbell River and in the Comox Valley. Premier Clark then told the Campbell River… View Article

Tax haven based company buys more BC P3s: British Auditor General questions profits in such transactions

Feb 14, 2012

By Keith Reynolds

Two of British Columbia’s public private partnership (P3) projects have changed hands again and once again the new owner resides in a European tax haven. In a separate but related development, last Friday Britain’s Auditor General released a report questioning very high level of profits for some British P3 projects partially generated by flipping the… View Article

BC dead last on inequality: BC Stats

Jan 30, 2012

By Keith Reynolds

Last Friday BC Stats, the BC government’s statistical agency, weighed in on the topic of income inequality. The CCPA has talked about this subject for years and it is nice to see that BC Stats has not only acknowledged the problem but says that: Compared to other provinces, BC ranked dead last in 2009, with… View Article

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A progressive take on BC issues

A progressive take on BC issues

Posts by Keith Reynolds

About Keith Reynolds

Construction industry accuses Partnerships BC of conflict of interest

Bank of Canada President says to end privatization of gains and socialization of losses

Silencing the outriders, silencing democracy

The staggering future costs of the BC government’s contracts

How the rules got fiddled to make sure a public private partnership got pushed through

Why do the citizens of Maine have a voice on free trade deals but Canadians don’t?

So why is all the good writing on privatization of liquor distribution in the business press?

BC’s P3s promise “eye-watering” profits” for private investors. And more of them coming

Tax haven based company buys more BC P3s: British Auditor General questions profits in such transactions

BC dead last on inequality: BC Stats