January 31, 2001
Lobby Notes: Points to make when lobbying MPPs.
On Nov. 2, the Ontario government introduced a bill in the legislature
called the Road User Customer Service Act, 2000. The sole purpose
of the bill is to set the stage for the privatization of services provided
by OPSEU members in the Ministry of Transportation. On Nov. 17, the
Ministry issued a Request for Qualifications to begin privatizing 900
driver examiners across the province. On Dec. 5, the Ministry announced
the privatization of Licensing & Control, affecting another 120
members.
Why privatize?
The government has not provided a single solid reason for the further
privatization of MTO services. The fact is, the government is privatizing
for ideological reasons. They simply don’t believe in an accountable
public service that protects the safety and confidentiality of all
citizens. They believe in private profit, not the public good. If the next
privatization turns out the way others have already turned out in this
Ministry under this government, it will be a disaster. It will make our
roads more dangerous. It won’t save money. It will put confidential
records into the hands of private operators. It will open the door to
corruption.
The 1999 provincial auditor’s
report: The
government has a lousy track record on MTO privatization
The first thing the Tories privatized was highway maintenance. The 1999
provincial auditor’s report had this to say:
- The privatized highway maintenance was poorly managed "
Although
some performance measures had been developed, the Ministry needed to
improve its procedures to measure and report on program effectiveness.
The Ministry's procedures were not adequate to ensure that the
outsourcing initiative was managed with due regard for economy and
efficiency nor to ensure compliance with legislation, policies, and
contract terms and conditions."
Privatization costs more. "The Ministry had not achieved the
target savings of 5% on the four outsourcing contracts we reviewed, which
covered about 20% of the province's highway system." In
fact, three of the four contracts examined actually cost more with a
private operator in charge, and the four cost more overall.
Extra work was awarded without tender. "Subsequent to
awarding highway maintenance contracts, the Ministry engaged the
contractors to perform additional work without tender and offered these
contractors surplus ministry vehicles and equipment without going through
the required public auction."
Privatized roads were dangerous roads. "There were concerns
that individual patrol areas were too large to adequately monitor the work
of contractors to ensure that provincial highways were safe, usable and
protected from untimely deterioration."
Private companies and
public dollars
- Increased danger
When it comes to providing public
services, the profit motive creates pressure for private companies to
cut corners in order to boost profits. In the case of crucial services
like our roads, cutting corners can mean the difference between life and
death.
We’ve seen what happened with our drinking water system after they
privatized ministry of Environment labs. The same thing can happen in
MTO if we privatize driver exams and safety inspections.
When wheels started flying off trucks on the 401, the government
responded appropriately by hiring more inspectors and doing blitzes to
check up on trucks and truckers. They did not send a memo to truck
companies asking them to do a better job of maintenance and hope that
worked! Nor did they hire the organization representing truckers to do
the policing!
- Breach of privacy
MTO collects a lot of personal information around drivers’
licences – in addition to name, address, and physical data, there
are medical restrictions and other information. Public servants are
bound by an oath of secrecy. The private sector is not. This kind of
personal information could be very profitable in the wrong hands.
- Corruption
A driver’s licence is a requirement for
many jobs, a vital piece of identification, a valuable document. This
means that already driver examiners are tempted by bribes on a regular
basis. If this service is privatized and staff are paid less, the
temptation will be greater. A private operation (or its employees) could
run a profitable black market in illegal identification with access to
the means of producing drivers’ licences – especially with the lax
management practices seen with highway maintenance.
Ontario brought driver examinations in from the private
sector in the mid-1950s to solve problems related to corruption. In
Canada, only Alberta has private driver testing. Newfoundland toyed with
the idea recently, but wisely dropped it.
- Private profits and public losses
The government makes about $10 million a year from driver
examinations. This is the attraction for the private sector (which
would be allowed to set its own fees and retain the revenue). This is
money that should be used to improve the safety of our roads, not as
private profits. This is a donation from taxpayers to private
companies.
Conclusion
The privatization of road user safety is part of a larger Conservative
agenda to destroy the Ontario Public Service and allow private companies
to pick its carcass clean.
Since its birth, Ontario has maintained a proud tradition of a public
service that is democratically accountable yet independent from partisan
politics.
It has protected the safety and confidentiality of Ontarians.
That era is coming to an end with bills such as the Road User
Customer Service Act and similar initiatives related to water safety,
correctional services, air ambulance, and many other core public services.
Rather than blaming current problems on public administration, the
government should take responsibility for managing the public service for
the benefit of all Ontarians, not just the few who happen to share this
government’s views.
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