Privatization pitch BY JAMES MCLEOD
NAPE says companies blocking release of health contract information
The province’s largest publicsector union will have to wait a while longer to get information about privatization at Eastern Health, because of a bottleneck in the province’s access to information law.
In a news release sent out Wednesday morning, Jerry Earle, president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Public and Private Employees, said three private companies are asking the province’s independent information and privacy watchdog to block release of contract information relating to their work in the health-care sector.
Earle said if a company is doing business with the government, then the public has every right to know about that business.
“Obviously, we’ve been raising concerns around the whole issue of privatization and P3s, and one of the issues that we’ve put forward is the whole issue of transparency,” he said. “We should know how that money is being spent, and that we’re getting the best bang for our buck.”
NAPE won’t get the documents it’s looking for in advance of the provincial budget on April 14, because the three private companies involved are exercising their rights under the law.
When the access to information system was reformed last year, the new law made it much more difficult for the government to withhold information based on commercial sensitivity.
But companies can still object to the government releasing information, and then it’s up to the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner to deliver a ruling.
Commissioner Ed Ring said every single time it has come up, so far, his office has ruled that the information should be released to the public.
Ring said challenges around commercial sensitivity come up a fair bit.
“We’re in the thick of it right now,” he said. “It’s new legislation and these kinds of challenges are somewhat new to us, so we’ve got to play it through, stick to our guns in terms of our interpretation of the act. We firmly believe that we’re right and we’re making the right recommendations.”
In a handful of cases related to Bell Canada, the company is going to court to challenge the ruling.
In the case of the NAPE situation, Earle said he believes the documents will ultimately show that privatizing services did not save money, and services have deteriorated.
Earle also said in this instance, the three companies — Paladin Security, Vinci Park/Indigo and Crothall Healthcare — are not Newfoundland and Labrador companies.
“It’s a concern of mine as a Newfoundlander and Labradorian, and as a taxpayer,” he said. “I’d prefer my dollars to stay in Newfoundland and Labrador.”