Halifax, N.S. – Nova Scotia Federation of Labour President Danny Cavanagh says he is not pleased with the news that the Nova Scotia Health Care Authority has approached privately-owned Scotia Surgery to see if they can possibly carry our more operations in the coming months during the seven year replacement of aging components at the VG Hospital.
“I can’t believe that after the recent million dollar decision of the McNeil Government not to privatize the motor vehicles, land and joint stock registries, that it would even consider allowing the private sector anywhere near our health care system, Says Cavanagh.
He says there is overwhelming evidence that there is no risk for the private partner who sucks every dollar they can from taxpayers for health care services that operate as public‐private‐partnerships (P3s) which are really private for‐profit “care”. This is and will be an erosion of our universal health care system where profit becomes the focus of the service instead of health care.
“Let’s remember the Provincial Liberal’s P3 school fiasco during which private partners fought with government on who would pay for trash cans in the halls and class rooms. That school privatization scheme will cost tax payers upwards of a billion dollars, a huge windfall for the private partner as Nova Scotians paid the bills for all 39 P3 schools.
“We ask the premier, since he did not specify any price on the VG work, will taxpayers be provided with all the information on any contracts, will they be transparent and show who is paying what? Taxpayer funds are wasted on P3 hospitals, not too mention the lack of transparency and democracy that is rampant with a P3 hospital system.
“McNeil ran on open and transparent government and there has been none,”says Cavanagh.