The Village of Telkwa is backing a motion to urge the federal government to provide funding for infrastructure without the need for public-private partnerships.
Telkwa Council was reacting to a letter in their council package from the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) BC, which took issue with the federal government’s focus on including private interests in infrastructure development.
“It is also critical that the federal government be discouraged from imposing a unilateral program that forces municipalities to privatize operation of their facilities,” read the letter, signed by CUPE BC President Barry O’Neill.
The program they refer to is called P3, or Public Private Partnerships, where a private business will be included in infrastructure development.
CUPE BC’s letter referred to the communities of Abbotsford and Calgary where the councils there sought P3 funding because there were no other sources of federal infrastructure funding.
“[CUPE BC’s] asking that there should be straight, across-the-board, infrastructure funding for municipalities,” said Telkwa Chief Administrative Officer Kim Martinsen.
Councillor Rimas Zitkauskas said that in general he supports the points made by this letter.
He moved to write to the government to request that the same amount of money be made available with non-P3 initiatives as with P3 initiatives.
The motion passed unanimously.
