Good morning, everyone. Thank you for being here today.
One of our previous witnesses, a professor at the University of Toronto, told us that the bonuses related to the transfer of risk do somewhat change the rules of the game and that they put conventional public projects at a disadvantage in an obvious way.
First, I would like to know whether the transfer of risk truly exists. I will give you two examples. My questions are for Mr. Katz.
Where is the risk transfer when the private company or consortium responsible for the P3 goes bankrupt? It is still the responsibility of the government and the public to pay the bills and to continue to provide the service. So there is no transfer of risk in the case of bankruptcy.
Mistakes are also made during projects. I can give you the example of a sports centre in Sherbrooke. Since the roof had been poorly constructed, water leaked in. One might think that, given the transfer of risk, the private consortium would pay for the repairs. But this is rarely the case. These things generally end up before the courts. That's what happened in Sherbrooke, among other places.
P3s may seem worthwhile, even if they are actually a trap for taxpayers, who then have their hands tied for 30 or 50 years. However, it is often a paradise for lawyers, given the legal proceedings.