This fall Winnipeg City Council will determine the future of waste and recycling collection in our city. Current contracts with Emterra Environmental and Progressive Waste Services will expire in 2017. At least eight private companies have expressed interest in putting forward a proposal, and it will be up to council to select from the various applicants. While garbage is generally not a “sexy” topic, there are many reasons why the public should be paying attention.
Public services and privatization
This study assesses the provisions in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) related to mail delivery and courier services.
Ottawa—A new assessment of the Trans-Pacific Partnership by two legal experts finds that the trade agreement’s provisions related to mail delivery and courier services pose a threat to how Canada Post functions today and restrict how the Crown corporation might be reformed or the services it provides expanded in the future.
by David Camfield, Labour Studies and Sociology, University of Manitoba
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) is currently engaged in collective bargaining with Canada Post. Unlike in previous rounds, the contracts of both the Urban bargaining unit (covering about 42 000 workers) and the unit of some 8000 Rural and Suburban Mail Carriers (RSMCs) are being negotiated simultaneously.
This study evaluates the P3 schools program in Nova Scotia and finds it to be a failure in terms of cost, risk management and evidence-based decision-making. As the study demonstrates, no cost-benefit analysis was done prior to the initiation of the projects, or at any time since. In addition, there were several examples of mismanagement of the program, ranging from a lack of oversight by the province to safety violations that placed students at risk.
HALIFAX – The P3 schools program in Nova Scotia was a failure that cost Nova Scotians tens of millions more than the traditional procurement system, says a study released today by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives-Nova Scotia (CCPA-NS).
It has taken more than a century, but Bell Canada has returned to Manitoba. In 1908, the government of Manitoba purchased Bell Canada's local operations and turned them into the Crown Corporation we knew as Manitoba Telephone System (MTS). Last week's news that Bell Canada Enterprises (BCE) would buy Manitoba Telecom Services brings this local success story to an end. It is an ending with a beginning in the privatization of MTS 20 years ago this spring.
Brian Pallister has said that if his Conservative Party wins this month’s provincial election, he will not rule out the possibility of experimenting with privatization in Manitoba’s health care system.
It may be worth recalling what happened when the provincial Conservative government privatized 10 percent of Winnipeg’s home care market in 1997. Mr. Pallister was Minister of Government Services at the time, and was fully in support of the “innovative” privatization experiment.
Winnipeg’s public transit system is in great need of improvement if it is to meet the needs of those who rely on it – seniors, low-income people, youth and persons with disabilities who cannot drive. By allowing people to get to work regardless of their schedules, an efficient transit system is one of the best ways to fight poverty and inequality in our city. Affordable transit also gives lower-income families the ability to participate in recreation and education, get to appointments, and to socialize.
For Manitoban’s concerned about poverty, there will be much to consider when sorting through political party platforms and promises in search of a meaningful poverty reduction plan. Poverty alleviation is a long-term proposition. No provincial political party can end poverty in the short term and certainly not in isolation of a federal government commitment. So beware of those politicians who offer silver bullets and quick fixes.