Originally, the government planned to complete seven P3 projects in the west. The private sector would build the required facility and the government would lease it back with a buyout option at the end of the lease term.

However, only the student family housing facility in Fort Smith has been completed and the remaining projects have been determined by the government to be unsuitable for the P3 approach. From the Fort Smith project, the government has learned that a P3 approach does not necessarily represent cost savings or value for money. The Auditor General's report concluded that the P3 project will cost the taxpayers more money than if the government had built and operated the facility itself.

The government has halted its use of the P3 approach and will take the conclusions of the Auditor General into consideration if it ever considers using the P3 approach again. The Standing Committee on Accountability and Oversight supports the government's decision to put a moratorium on new P3 projects.

Finally, the committee also asked the government if any proponents were paid back on cancelled P3 projects. Committee members were informed that fees to P3 consultants totalled $900,000 and the proponent involved in the Inuvik Hospital P3 project was compensated in the amount of $40,000.