I'd like to thank the committee, on behalf of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, for the opportunity to share our thoughts and recommendations for amendments to Bill C-2, the proposed Accountability Act.
CUPE is the largest union in Canada. It has over 540,000 members, most of whom work in the municipal sector, in health, education and social services. Our objective is to maintain and reinforce the public sector, not only to benefit our members, but also to strengthen our communities. Our interest today is to ensure that Bill C-2 will improve government accountability, particularly with regard to contracts for the procurement of goods and services and with private companies in general.
Accountability is a major concern with contracting out and public-private partnerships, or P3s.
The sponsorship scandal is only one example of these. The $160 million Department of National Defence scandal, the Richmond airport-Vancouver rapid transit line, also known as the Canada Line, and Prince Edward Island's Confederation Bridge were all other examples fraught with controversy.
Privatization of roads, hospitals, schools, and prisons in the U.K. has led to mismanagement of funds and loss of public control.
The changes proposed in Bill C-2 put the public sector under a microscope—in many cases this is welcome—but leave the private sector and its use of public funds shielded from scrutiny.
I am going to give my colleague the floor so that he can explain our amendments and our particular concerns.