P3s are not the answer to fast-tracking infrastructure investments

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In an editorial published Saturday, the Vancouver Sun makes a good case for investing in infrastructure as a way of stimulating economic activity. But the editorial is off the mark when it claims that public-private partnerships (P3s) are especially well-suited for this purpose.

In fact a number of business leaders have recently argued that P3 arrangements will delay infrastructure spending because of the complexity of the deals and the shortage of credit.

The B.C. government recently raised the threshold value of projects to be automatically considered as P3s from $20 million to $50 million in an effort to accelerate projects -- a tacit acknowledgement that P3 schemes would slow down needed infrastructure investments.

The Vancouver Sun editorial's claim that P3s would favour local suppliers is highly questionable. In fact, the chairman of the Canadian Construction Association recently told a national conference that P3s would take away the "bread and butter" from most of his members.

Here's an excerpt from the Sun editorial: