FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 7, 2006
Mess over highway
spill shows folly of privatization; province plans more
TORONTO – A routine spill that
backed up Highway 401 for four hours on Tuesday shows the
folly of privatizing highway maintenance, the Ontario Public
Service Employees Union says.
“When Canada’s biggest and most
important highway is blocked, the only thing that should
matter is getting it unblocked as quickly as possible,” said
John O’Brien, chair of the OPSEU committee for the Ministry of
Transportation of Ontario. “Private companies care more about
getting paid than they do about serving the public interest.”
Highway 401 was blocked
yesterday when a private clean-up crew demanded payment up
front before it would clean up a diesel spill.
“Basic highway maintenance has
been going downhill since Mike Harris privatized it all,” said
O’Brien. “The most shocking thing is that the McGuinty
government intends to expand privatization even further,” he
said.
Earlier this year, then
Transportation Minister Harinder Takhar announced pilot
projects for so-called “Area Term Contracts” (ATCs) for
provincial highways. Unlike the current Area Maintenance
Contracts, which generally last five years and cover only
basic road upkeep, ATCs will last up to 20 years and cover not
only maintenance but also all road reconstruction and
rehabilitation.
“Under the government’s plan,
giant corporate entities will have total control over every
aspect of our highways – except paying for them,” said
O’Brien. “That will be left to taxpayers. We’ll have to pay a
pretty penny, because there is no way a company can risk
signing a 20-year contract without making sure its expenses
and its profits are secured by a fat cushion of our tax
dollars.”
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For more information:
John O’Brien (807) 628-4364
Randy Robinson (416) 788-9134
