P3 Screws Taxpayers Again

So much for the P3 concept saving taxpayers money. It would seem that the new Calgary Board of Education head office is going to cost taxpayers an arm and a leg. Now it comes to no surprise to those of us in the progressive blogosphere that the P3 concept was in no way going to save taxpayers money. I mean really, what kind of whackjob thinks that selling public land to a developer, paying that developer to build a building, then leasing that building from the developer only to have to purchase the building at the end would be cheaper than just having the public own the building in the first place.

Of course the Calgary Herald is only incensed at the cost, which is due to the P3 concept, since they were trumpeting the P3 idea back when the province was forcing school boards into P3 contracts. Given that the CBE and other school boards that needed new schools were forced into making schools with the P3 concept, one wonders how much extra these schools are going to cost the taxpayer, given the hideous cost of the head office building. Makes on wonder how much money the developers gave the provincial Tories in donations to force the school boards into these expensive contracts.

It has been known for years that the P3 concept isn't cheaper than more traditional construction concepts. The Calgary Courts Centre started out as a P3, but the government was forced to change it to a traditional building as the P3 costs were skyrocketing through the roof. Despite this, the blind ideology of the Tories forced the school boards of the provinces to use this incredibly expensive method to build much needed new schools and buildings. So now we have millions of dollars that should be headed into the classroom to help educate our children now flowing into the pockets of developers to pad their bottom line. Just the way that the Tories want it.

Naturally the Con-bots in the comments section of the Herald article blame the teachers, who of course had nothing to do with the building in the first place. I say to them the same thing I say to anyone who thinks that teachers are under-worked and overpaid, if it's so good to be a teacher, why aren't you one?