Transport committee  Thanks for that. This is a classic problem with public-private partnerships. When essential infrastructure or services are privately operated, there is also this incentive to bring in or increase user fees over time to create profit. As you mentioned, plans for user fees have been confirmed by the CIB itself in its last annual report.

Transport committee  I think the short version is that, as I mentioned, the council recognized the very serious risks, some of which I highlighted, when it comes to P3s. In the end, they opted to go public. I want to put this in context, too, because while Mapleton is one important example and very connected to the CIB, this is happening in the context where there is a global movement, which at the council we're proud to be a part of, that is aimed at taking back public control of water.

Transport committee  Fundamentally, it comes back to the mandate of the bank itself, and the importance of returning it to build public financing and moving away from engaging in support for privatization and P3s. As I outlined just some of the challenges with P3s earlier, I find it interesting that often folks who speak in favour of P3s use rhetoric that seems very detached from the evidence.

Transport committee  Thank you. In 2011 Berlin residents and citizen groups had to push for a referendum to publicize the contract for its privatized water services before ending up taking it back into public hands. P3s were a poor model before the pandemic. Now that we have the opportunity to build back better, P3s should play no role in Canada's post-COVID recovery plan.

Transport committee  Thank you for the invitation to join this important discussion. Using the Canada Infrastructure Bank to advance infrastructure privatization and public-private partnerships is deeply misguided and dangerous, and here's why. The CIB's current structure promotes a flawed financing model of public-private partnerships, inviting and subsidizing private interests to take control of critical infrastructure and services that should be kept in public hands.