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Shelley Svidal, ATA News
The government is refusing to release information on a $634 million, 30-year deal it signed with BBPP Alberta Schools Limited in September 2008 to design, build, finance and maintain 18 new schools in Calgary and Edmonton.
On April 20, the legislative assembly rejected motions for return 12 and 17. Sponsored by Rachel Notley (NDP—Edmonton-Strathcona), Motion for a Return 12 requests
[a] copy of the initial proposal submitted by Babcock & Brown Public Partnerships Limited to the Ministry of Education for the construction of 18 Alberta schools, the findings of the selection process that resulted in Babcock & Brown Public Partnerships Limited winning a contract, the research that concluded that $118 million would be saved by constructing schools through P3s [public–private partnerships] instead of through traditional methods, and the agreement signed between the Government and Babcock & Brown Public Partnerships Limited to design, build, finance, and maintain these schools.
Motion for a Return 17, also sponsored by Notley, requests
[a] copy of the independent audit of the financing method being used for the construction of schools in Calgary referred to in the Assembly by the [then] Minister of Education [Ron Liepert] during Oral Question Period on Wednesday, November 7, 2007.
Deputy Government House Leader Rob Renner urged MLAs to reject Motion for a Return 12. Pointing out that the agreement with BBPP Alberta Schools Limited and the research have been posted to Alberta Education’s website, he argued that some of the information sought in the motion is proprietary. “Releasing it could take away from the competitiveness of the process. It jeopardizes the proponent’s ability to do business or to competitively bid on other projects,” including the bidding process for 14 additional schools in the Calgary and Edmonton regions that is currently under way.
Rejecting Renner’s argument about proprietary information, Notley insisted that the government should release the information in the spirit of public accountability. “I would suggest that it is well within the capacity of this government to suggest that where private industry agrees to work with government to construct capital projects, they simply need to be prepared that more information is going to become public. That’s part of the quid pro quo for successfully signing what appears to be about a $650 million contract,” she said. “I would suggest that it’s very possible to provide far more information than has been provided to date without in any way jeopardizing any sort of proprietary information that could do any sort of genuine damage to the business interests of this particular company.”
Renner also urged MLAs to reject Motion for a Return 17. “Releasing this information could interfere with the government’s contractual or other negotiations,” he said.
Auditor General Fred Dunn is looking into the use of public–private partnerships for school construction. His report is expected to be made public in October 2009.
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