Questions And Concerns Raised About P3 Financing In Portage

P3 financing for a Water Pollution Control Facility in Portage la Prairie was discussed at a public forum held by the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 1002 last night at the MNP Building.

President of CUPE Manitoba Kelly Moist shares her disappointment with the proposed plan.

"CUPE is in disagreement with the project, and we think there are a lot of questions that need to be answered and a lot of information that has been redacted that we aren't privy to, and the citizens of Portage aren't privy to. This was a success and to me, it shows there should be more of these. People have questions, people are leaving with questions, and I hope they take those questions to the Mayor, to their councillors because it's their right. It's their taxes, it's their city."

Mayor Irvine Ferris took questions from those in attendance and says CUPE did a great job organizing the event. He's cautiously optimistic about the proposed plan.

"I think the message we heard here tonight was, proceed with caution, certainly different speakers said to make sure we do our due-diligence, make sure there are safeguards built in. So those notes of caution are noted and we'll proceed on to the next step. I think we all learned a fair bit from the exchange of ideas here and it was a very good forum."

President and CEO of the Canadian Council for Public-Private Partnerships Mark Romoff attended and has a good feeling about the proposed plan.

"The majority of the players in these contractual arrangements are local companies, but they need the experience of those companies that have global experience. So you get these international, or even national consortia because you won't find all the skills you need to do it in Portage, but you put together a group that has a good representation from the local community, and you've got a hell of a project."

Moist encourages everyone who has an issue with the plan to contact the Mayor or a council member and share their concerns.