P3 won't build new manors

CHARLOTTETOWN - The P.E.I. government is not closing the door on public-private partnerships but it says it will build the Island's five new manors with public dollars.
The provincial government had closely considered a public-private partnership as a way of speeding up the delivery of new manors in the province.
"The use of alternative financing such as P3 needs to be examined on a case-by-case basis to determine what is in the taxpayers' best interests," said Provincial Treasurer Wes Sheridan.
Summerset Manor in Summerside and Prince Edward Home in Charlottetown will be replaced first at a cost of $36 million.
Riverview, Colville and Maplewood manors will also be replaced within the next five years.
Sheridan says there has been much public discussion and debate about whether manor replacement should be pursued through normal, traditional means, or through public private partnerships or P3s.
"I can report that we have examined the merits of this matter with respect to manor replacement and have concluded that our new manors will be government-built, government-owned, and government-run."
That's good news for Bill McKinnon, health-care co-ordinator for the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Prince Edward Island.
Health-care unions across the Island launched an aggressive campaign, including TV commercials, to discourage the provincial government from pursuing the P3 proposal.
"That is not only satisfying that they've seen the merits of sticking with government-built, government-owned, government-operated, but it's the right decision for the taxpayers of Prince Edward Island," said McKinnon.