Public Values Contributor

News about privatization and the fight to preserve public services, resources, spaces and enterprise

Cost of meds to skyrocket following Canada-European Union Trade Agreement

Sep 052012

Patent reform being used as bargaining chip at expense of Canadians’ health.

Don Davies, Vancouver Kingsway MP, NDP Trade Critic

Davies: “Studies project the patent extensions proposed by the EU could raise Canadians’ drug costs by $2.8 billion a year.”

VANCOUVER, BC, August 23, 2012: The Conservative government should remove patent reform from the negotiations of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) with the European Union, says New Democrat Trade Critic Don Davies.

“Changing the patent regime for pharmaceuticals is a complicated issue with deep consequences for Canadians, provincial healthcare programs, and Canadian employers,” said Davies (Vancouver-Kingsway). “Studies project the patent extensions proposed by the EU could raise Canadians’ drug costs by $2.8 billion a year.”

Drug costs are the second leading health care costs for provinces and are rising every year. A recent report reveals that many low income Canadians cannot afford the cost of their medicines and one in four are simply not filling their prescriptions.

Civil rights organization, union ready to fight Ontario Liberals educational Bill 115 in court if passed

Sep 052012

Education, Public services

Constitutional rights blatantly disregarded for political advancement during election period.

TORONTO, ON, August 30, 2012: The Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) has issued a stern warning about the Liberal government’s Bill 115, which affects education workers in Ontario. The Association further announced that it will seek intervener status in a legal challenge should the bill pass in the Ontario Legislature.

“We are concerned that this bill violates the right to meaningful collective bargaining. Why is it necessary, for instance, remove the right to strike before any job action has occurred or even been contemplated? Collective bargaining enhances the dignity of workers and is a constitutional right, in part, for this reason. This isn’t only about the pocketbook, it is also about participating in the governance of the workplace,” said Sukanya Pillay, a CCLA director.

Continued Conservative cuts are affecting Canadians’ safety in their communities and on the job

Sep 052012

Public services

Correctional services staff, border officers, military veterans, law enforcement agents and others organize Fall info forum.

Deslile: The Federal Government seems to have abandoned its responsibilities related to public safety.

OTTAWA, ON, August 16, 2012: Unions representing workers in Canadian prisons, at the borders, in the federal justice system, and serving veterans say the federal government has some explaining — and listening — to do when it comes to how cuts are putting public safety at risk.

The leaders of the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers (UCCO-SACC-CSN), the Union of Solicitor General Employees (USGE), the Customs and Immigration Union (CIU), the Union of Veterans Affairs Employees (UVAE) and the Association des membres de la Police Montée du Québec (AMPMQ), which together represent more than 33,000 workers in the field of public safety, are teaming up to organize a forum on public safety in Ottawa this fall. Public Safety Minister Vic Toews has declined an invitation to attend.

“In the face of so little information from the government, we feel it is our responsibility to share what we are learning,” said UCCO-SACC-CSN president Pierre Mallette, whose members serve as correctional officers in federal penitentiaries across the country. “It is unfortunate that the minister chose not to consult us before imposing these cuts. Now we hope he'll at least listen to our concerns about what they will mean,” he added.

Extra-billing for day surgeries continues in Vancouver

Sep 052012

Health, Public services

Government inaction leading to increasingly unequal and inaccessible health care.

Protest at the Cambie Surgery Centre, August 20, 2012

Rally protests extra-billing practices at the Cambie Surgery Centre in BC.

August 28, 2012: Health care workers, community groups and Canadian Doctors for Medicare gathered on August 20th to protest extra-billing practices at the Cambie Surgery Centre in BC.

The clinic had been audited by the Medical Services Commission and found to have extra-billed patients in contravention of the provincial Medicare Protection Act.

Medicare advocates are calling on the provincial government to take swift action against the clinic to ensure that the principles of equity and accessibility are preserved in the single-payer health system.

“New” Conservative pension plan offers little retirement security

Sep 052012

Pensions, Public services

PRPPs simply RRSPs “with a new coat of paint” — CD How Institute.

Larry Brown, Secretary-Treasurer of NUPGE

Brown: PRPPs provide few benefits to workers while they are a new source of profit for the financial industry.

OTTAWA, ON, August 27, 2012: Even the CD Howe Institute is now criticizing the Harper governments' proposed Pooled Registered Pension Plans (PRPPs) program.

In the report “Pooled Registered Pension Plans: Pension Savior — or a New Tax on the Poor?”, authors James Pierlot and Alexandre Laurin find that the PRPPs program will do little to help most Canadians prepare for retirement.

“As currently proposed, PRPPs present only the appearance of reform because they are for the most part a re-release of an existing retirement savings vehicle — RRSPs — with a new coat of paint,” said James Pierlot, a pension specialist and member of the Pension Policy Council of the CD Howe Institute.

Privatization a cover-up for corrupt political tactics and patronage

Sep 052012

Public services

“Pervasive and growing reality” undermining nations — Krugman.

Krugman: If you think about it, you realize that the one thing the companies are definitely not doing is competing in a free market. They are living off government contracts. (Photo by David Shankbone)

Examining the case of privatized halfway houses in New Jersey uncovered by the New York Times, Paul Krugman provides in The Sacramento Bee three reasons behind the drive to increase privatization. Krugman discusses the right’s framing of privatization and how it is meant to mislead. He also counters arguments pitting unions with these same market forces.

“Over the past few days, the New York Times has published several terrifying reports about New Jersey's system of halfway houses — privately run adjuncts to the regular system of prisons. The series is a model of investigative reporting, which everyone should read. But it should also be seen in context. The horrors described are part of a broader pattern in which essential functions of government are being both privatized and degraded.

First of all, about those halfway houses: In 2010, Chris Christie, the state's governor — who has close personal ties to Community Education Centers, the largest operator of these facilities, and who once worked as a lobbyist for the firm…’”

For the complete article, please click here.

Wall Street profiteering from municipal water services

Sep 052012

Natural Resources, Public services

Private equity firms use greater bargaining power to negotiate more lucrative deals at the expense of taxpayers.

Wenonah Hauter, Food & Water Watch Executive Director

Hauter: Private equity players aren’t investing in water out of a sense of civic responsibility. Their first and foremost motivation is profits.

WASHINGTON, DC, August 22, 2012: Following its disastrous foray into the housing market, Wall Street’s latest earnings scheme is as close as your kitchen sink: the finance industry is increasingly targeting public water systems. A new report released today by the national consumer advocacy group Food & Water Watch, “Private Equity, Public Inequity: The Public Cost of Private Equity Takeovers of US Water Infrastructure”, reveals that as of January 2012, private equity players had raised $186 billion through 276 infrastructure funds and were seeking another $93 billion to take over infrastructure worldwide.

“Like Wall Street’s manipulation of the housing market in the previous decade, private equity firms and investment bankers are increasingly looking to cash in on one of our most essential resources — water,” said Food & Water Watch Executive Director Wenonah Hauter. “These deals are ultimately a bum deal for consumers, who will end up paying the price through increased water bills and degraded service.”

Food & Water Watch’s new report shows that because private equity players typically seek a 12 to 15 percent return on investment, they quickly flip assets. Often, they do this after scrimping on service, investing in elaborate and unnecessary projects, quashing transparency and avoiding taxation, in turn driving up prices for consumers.

Neil Armstrong opposed Obama’s SpaceX privatization plan

Sep 052012

Public services

Astronaut hero had “substantial reservations” about forcing NASA out of human space operations.

Armstrong: Privatizing SpaceX is a misguided proposal that forces NASA out of human space operations for the foreseeable future.

August 28, 2012: Neil Armstrong expressed serious reservations about Obama’s space privatization policy, reports Alex Marin on Policymic. In honour of Armstrong’s passing away, he recounts the astronaut’s earlier accomplishments as a military pilot, along with a few anecdotes from space. Armstrong opposed leasing space to private interests to the exclusion of NASA.

“CBS News reported that Neil Armstrong, the first man on the moon, has passed away ‘following complications resulting from cardiovascular procedures.’ He was 82.

His family described him as ‘a reluctant American hero who always believed he was just doing his job.’

Armstrong set foot on the moon on July 20, 1969, fulfilling the goal that had been set by President John F. Kennedy just eight years earlier. He was born in Wapakoneta, Ohio, in 1930.

Second arbitrator in Canada Post labour settlement rejected by federal court

Aug 162012

Public services

Labour Minister asked to appoint unbiased mediator, not friends.

Lemelin: This decision shows that we have been right to oppose this flawed process. OTTAWA, ON, August 9, 2012: The Federal Court of Canada has ruled that Guy Dufort, the second arbitrator appointed by the Harper government to resolve the dispute between Canada Post and its unionized workers — to oversee the imposition of back-to-work legislation and a final offer selection — must step aside and federal Labour Minister, Lisa Raitt, appoint a replacement.

Following his appointment by Minister Raitt on March 15th, Dufort sent his resumé to the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW), which included details of his involvement as a high-ranking official with both the Conservative Party of Canada and as an advocate for Canada Post Corporation in its pay equity case.

Town halls across Canada discuss public transport needs

Aug 162012

Public services

Citizens' help requested to produce a blueprint for Via Rail's revival and expansion.

Gow: CA may soon be the only industrialized nation without proper, effective rail passenger service. OTTAWA, ON, August 10, 2012: In response to the cuts now being made to Via Rail Canada, Transport Action Canada and its five regional affiliates are launching their nationwide town hall workshop project, National Dream Renewed. The first stop will be Sarnia, Ontario.

"We're pleased to accept the invitation of the Sarnia Lambton Economic Partnership and Mayor Mike Bradley to launch this project in their city, which has long called for more and better Via service," says Harry Gow, past president of Transport Action Canada and chair of the National Dream Renewed project. "The decision to cancel half of Sarnia's passenger trains is baffling, especially when the government is currently investing $923 million to renew Via's fleet and other capital assets. What Sarnia and other Canadian communities need is more Via service, not less."

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