Kingston residents battle Liberal hospital privatization

P3 scams enable foreign companies to rip of taxpayers for decades

By Natalie Mehra –

Residents of Kingston went to Queen’s Park to show their opposition to the “P3” privatization of their new hospital. The Kingstonians recently held a referendum in which almost 10,000 people voted on the issue.

P3 is Public-Private Partnership, a form of privatization in which a group of multinational companies forms a consortium to build the new hospital. They privatize the management of the hospital building and lands and some services for 30 years, all the while being paid handsomely in long-term private contracts by the public purse.

P3s are opposed by public health care advocates because the public loses control over vital aspects of the hospital in long-term private contracts and the high costs of the private financing lead to cuts in front-line care and further for-profit privatization.

Natalie Mehra represents the Ontario Health Coalition.