The QEII hospital redevelopment project will cost more than double as a public-private partnership than it would under a public borrowing plan, says a recent study.
“Evidence from auditor general reports in Nova Scotia, Ontario and British Columbia from similar P3 projects make it extremely likely this province and Nova Scotians will pay more to get less for this hospital,” Larissa Atkison, author of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and Nova Scotia Health Coalition report, said at a news conference in Halifax on Thursday.
“Consider, for example, the $151 million that has been earmarked just for the preliminary transaction costs to oversee the P3 contract,” Atkison said.
Atkison found the government could fund 116,154 overnight stays in hospital beds, 25,267 average hospital stays or a one-year salary of 582 full-time doctors with the money used toward overseeing the P3 contract.
“It seems that they have an unfounded institutional commitment to P3s, we just don’t know why,” Atkison said, noting the province has only publicly revealed where $764.4 million of the committed $2 billion is being invested.
Atkison said the government’s refusal to release the value for money report and request for proposal documents on the project doesn’t only defy transparency, but it may also violate the law.
The Liberal government has said it will release the documents after the contract has been signed by the successful candidate.
“Withholding these tenders from the public domain is arguably also in violation of the Public Procurement Act, which states all tenders ought to be made available,” she said.
“Without access to these documents, it’s really impossible to discern basic information about the project’s scope, such as which maintenance services will be privatized as a result of this project.”
Jason MacLean, president of the Nova Scotia Government and General Employees Union , has been raising questions about hundreds of jobs that may be at risk, but hasn’t heard any answers.
“Right now, the P3 is looking at having another private entity look after it,” MacLean said.
“You’d have maintenance and tradespeople that would be essentially out of jobs or going somewhere else within hospitals,” he said, noting about 200-300 workers would be affected.
MacLean said releasing the documents of the project would bring clarity to which areas the government is seeking to have contracted out.
On Thursday, Susan Leblanc, NDP infrastructure renewal spokeswoman, tabled a bill which would require the provincial government to release the financial details of P3 projects before the contract is signed.
“An NDP government would not use P3s, but since the Liberals plan to do this, the least they could do would be to allow the public to see the details before a contract is signed,” Leblanc said.
Infrastructure Department spokeswoman Marla MacInnis said going with a P3 model "gives us more certainty around cost and timelines, saves money, and will make sure the buildings are maintained in a high-quality state for the next 30 years."
MacInnis said the department looked at Ontario's successful use of the P3 model and can't validate the costs put forward in Atkison's report.
MacInnis said the request-for-proposals process has to remain confidential as it includes project design, contract specifications and other elements.
"As we’ve said all along, when procurement is complete, we will release the information for Nova Scotians to see," MacInnis said.
"We want to get the best deal for Nova Scotians. Releasing those documents could jeopardize that and we aren’t prepared to take that risk."
Gary Andrea, Internal Affairs Department spokesman, said the procurement process for the Bayers Lake Community Outpatient Centre project is a two-stage process: request for supplier qualification and requests for proposals.
"The province, with the publication of stage 1, has met its obligation of procuring in a fair, open, consistent and transparent matter," Andrea said.
"As part of the designed solicitation process, only prequalified parties that were identified through the (first stage) have been granted access to the documentation."
