Public Values

Air Canada broke law by outsourcing maintenance

Feb 282013
 
 Public Values
AirCanada

Maintenance firm goes bankrupt.

from the Montreal Gazette

The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW) is declaring an "historic victory", following a recent decision by a Quebec Superior Court judge that Air Canada must maintain its own heavy maintenance centres in Montreal and Winnipeg, reports the Montreal Gazette. The victory may by pyrrhic, as appeals could drag on for years.
 

Privatization protested at University of Manitoba

Feb 282013
 
 Public Values
UniversityOf_Manitoba

Unions, students, decry lack of consultation.

from the CBC

CBC News recently reported on a protest enjoined by students and six unions at the University of Manitoba about recent privatization of services — including a for-profit company to teach international students.
 

P3s tie up resources for the future

Feb 282013
 
 Public Values
BC legislature.

Contractual obligations balloon real deficit.

from the Vancouver Sun

The Vancouver Sun's Craig McInnes takes a look at the BC Liberals' recent budget with an eye to the real deficit, which includes hundreds of millions of dollars in P3 obligations, restricting government spending decisions well into the future.
 

Smaller post offices bring in less revenue

Feb 282013
 
 Public Values
Canada Post.

Canada Post studying every post office for possible downsizing.

by SGNews Staff

Canada Post  has announced plans to make post offices more compact. The "new smaller retail model" was tested last November in Chatham, Ontario, where the post office was renovated over a weekend.  The Canadian Union of Postal Workers reports that the office lost 1.5 positions, has only one sales register, is inefficiently designed, and has increased customer complaints about wait times. It is also expected to bring in less revenue.

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Cost of privatized maintenance cloaked

Feb 282013
 
 Public Values

Albertans' tax dollars at risk.

by SGNews Staff

A recent report from the University of Alberta's Parkland Institute says that the contracting out of Alberta's infrastructure maintenance to private firms has resulted in decreased transparency and accountability, and has put taxpayer dollars at risk.
 

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Privatization and public transit in Toronto: buzz words replace facts

Feb 252013
 
 Public Values
A Toronto LRT.

Auditor General's findings aside, Metrolinx linked to P3s.

from The Bullet

Brenda Thompson mulls over the roles Infrastructure Ontario and Metrolinx play in ensuring Toronto transit projects are guided into public-private partnership models in a recent edition of The Bullet.  The Auditor General's report on two recent transport projects indicates P3s are more costly and much less open to public input.
 

Neoliberalizing nature and privatizing air

Feb 252013
 
 Public Values
A power plant.

Putting a price tag on "natural capital".

from The Real News

Years of experience with emissions trading proves you can't finance renewable energy, concludes Patrick Bond, author of Politics of Climate Justice and Durban's Climate Gamble, interviewed recenty by The Real News.
 

The privatization of Chile’s sea

Feb 252013
 
 Public Values
A Chilean fisherman.

Protests erupt over right to fish.

from Dissident Voice

Dissident Voice recently aired a documentary by The Real News Network on a recent Chilean government law reserving fishing rights to seven powerful familes, under the banner of sustainability of the industry.
 
 
 

Big agriculture puts a lock on seeds

Feb 212013
 
 Public Values
Seeds.

Intrusive measures include unfettered access to farmers' lands.

from Common Dreams

An article in Common Dreams on a new report by two advocacy groups , entitled "Seed Giants vs US Farmers", raises the spectre of Big Agriculture in the US not only controlling the vast majority of the global commercial seed market, but locking down on all seed usage.
 
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