Portage la Prairie P3 decision fails the public interest test

By Paul Moist Pursuant to new provincial and federal effluent guidelines, the City of Portage la Prairie is required to upgrade its wastewater facilities, known as the Water Pollution Control Facility (WPCF). The new Public-Private Partnership (P3) project …

U of M Labour Showdown: A New Sheriff in Town

by Lynne Fernandez On October 28th, an unusual joint statement was released by the University of Manitoba (U of M) administration and the union representing faculty, the University of Manitoba Faculty Association (UMFA). Unusual because these two entities …

Private Long Term Care and Home Care Zombies

First published in the Winnipeg Free Press Oct 25, 2016 By Pat and Hugh Armstrong UBC economist Robert Evans calls user fees in health care zombies, a policy option that keeps surfacing despite being killed over and over …

Cities and Civic Workers: The Union Role in Building Better Cities

Book Review by Jim Silver Although Carlo Fanelli’s book Megacity Malaise: Neoliberalism, Public Services and Labour in Toronto is not about Winnipeg, it offers many insights applicable to Winnipeg and to other Canadian cities. Fanelli is a former …

Work Life Blog: What’s at Stake at Canada Post?

The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) is currently engaged in collective bargaining with Canada Post. Unlike in previous rounds, the contracts of both the Urban bargaining unit (covering about 42,000 workers) and the unit of some 8,000 …

Keep public services public: The perils of P3’s and SIBs

By Lynne Fernandez The results of the recent federal election are a likely indication of what Manitobans want to see from our next government: transparency; stimulus spending on ailing infrastructure, financed by deficits; a transition to a green …

Home care best kept public

By Pete Hudson Manitoba’s Home Care program was launched in 1974 under the guidance of the late Evelyn Shapiro. It is publicly funded and publicly delivered. It aims to avoid or delay the more expensive forms of chronic …

Outsourcing Under Scrutiny

By Lynne Fernandez There has been a greater tendency for governments to outsource, and the City of Winnipeg is no exception. Outsourcing can be complex and lack transparency, particularly when public-private partnerships (P3s) are used. Under a P3, …

That’s What Unions Do

By Lynne Fernandez PDF version Back in February, 2013, CCPA-Mb  put out a Fast Facts  titled Six Unions: One Voice* which chronicled the many problems faced by staff at the University of Manitoba campus . We explained how …

CCPA-MB AGM with Larry Brown as guest speaker

Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives Manitoba office 2013 Annual General Meeting Friday, September 20, 2013, 11:30 am – 1 pm. Anhang room, 2nd floor, Millennium Library 251 Donald St. Keynote speaker: Larry Brown Larry is Secretary Treasurer of …