by Shauna MacKinnon

There has been much talk about privatization in these days leading up to the October 4th election.

While nobody but Hugh McFadyen knows for sure what he will do if elected, the NDP have shown that his record certainly suggests an ideological bent toward privatization.

The NDP has focused on McFadyen’s role in the privatization of Manitoba’s telecommunications crown corporation (MTS), past comments McFadyen has made regarding Manitoba Hydro, as well as comments made by former city councilor and Seine River Conservative candidate, Gord Steeves regarding privatization of the Manitoba Public Insurance Corporation (MPIC).  The NDP has pointed out that these are examples of what a Conservative government led by Hugh McFadyen can be expected to do.

Another example of the Conservative government’s experimentation with privatization in the 90’s was in the healthcare sector.  In the paper titled “The Cost of Privatization: A Case Study of Home Care in Manitoba published by CCPA Manitoba, author Professor Evelyn Shapiro tells the story about the Filmon conservatives attempt at privatizing 25 percent of its personal care workforce in Winnipeg.

Many Manitobans have likely forgotten about the Filmon government’s attempt to privatize Home Care in the 1990s because it failed miserably.   It’s an interesting piece of history worth reading.