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CORNWALL, Ont. Paul Moist, the national president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), will speak to the presidents of CUPE locals in Cornwall and the surrounding area at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, September 20 at The Knights of Columbus Hall, 205 Amelia Street, in Cornwall.
CUPE leadership, representing over 6,000 CUPE members and covering a 1600 square mile radius of Cornwall, will be in attendance to hear Mr. Moist explain the dire pitfalls of allowing a public-private partnership (P3) to build the proposed new arena.
We at CUPE have had a great deal of experience with public-private partnerships (P3s)
and all of it has been negative for the communities where they have been built, for the municipalities who end up footing the bill, for the residents who face user fees, poor support because staff is cut or reduced to part-time, and badly maintained facilities because, to make a profit, the private investor skims on upkeep, Moist said while preparing for his meeting with local presidents.
The presidents who will be meeting with Moist represent CUPE members at four regional hospitals, social workers in the area, inside and outside municipal workers in all municipalities, mental health workers, paramedics, and library workers, as well as Cornwall Electric.
The issue of P3s is an important one for municipalities and the community, Moist said.
Private investors, with large amounts of money, make a great representation and talk a good line so that councillors believe they are getting a great deal, but the reality is that P3s serve only the private investor whose only goal is to make a profit. Many of these investors walk away when they don’t realize the profits they had anticipated. This leaves the taxpayer holding the bag.
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For further information, contact:
Wendy Forbes Sébastien Goulet Bob Manny
CUPE Communications CUPE Communications CUPE National Rep
416-892-8716 613-808-0675 613-933-5515
