Thanks for the Minister’s response. I’m sure all the other jurisdictions that have had such failures have similarly done the analysis and so on. A 2012 study of 28 Ontario P3 projects worth more than $7 billion found that public-private partnerships cost an average of 16 percent more than conventionally tendered contracts. That’s mainly because private borrowers typically pay higher interest rates than governments. Transaction costs for lawyers and consultants also add about 3 percent to the final bill, and of course, private financiers are looking for a large return on their investments.
Specifically, what are the checks and balances the Minister refers to that makes our P3 project so different and so safe, from Cabinet’s perspective, and it will protect us and the public from the 16 percent-plus cost penalty typical of such an approach. Mahsi.