McGuinty backs off public services privatization

The Toronto Star:

Premier Dalton McGuinty’s minority Liberal government is backing off a money-saving plan to privatize more public services — and improve the “customer” experience — unless it puts it to a majority vote in the legislature, the Star has learned.

The move is seen as a sop to the New Democrats, who hold the balance of power at Queen’s Park, as the government struggles to eliminate a $15-billion deficit and avoid further credit downgrades.
“It’s a bit of a shift but one that strikes a balance,” a senior government source told the Star on Sunday.

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said last week she was concerned about the lack of public oversight for services to be privatized in the budget legislation and demanded hearings to ensure greater “transparency.”

“We do have to do our due diligence and make sure that we’re looking after the interest of the public,” she told reporters.

Until recently, Duncan had promised the government would not go into privatizations beyond the sale and leaseback of eight government buildings, winding down the Ontario Northland Transportation Corporation serving northern Ontario, and allowing more private sector involvement in casinos through the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation.

The change of position on privatizations, which follows another budget deal with the NDP and Progressive Conservatives just days ago, will come in the form of an amendment to Finance Minister Dwight Duncan’s 327-page fiscal blueprint.

The amendment is also intended as an olive branch to public sector workers worried about losing their jobs with more privatizations at the same time as McGuinty seeks to impose wage freezes on them through contract talks.

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