Here is Canada, we have had enough situations over the years to know what can happen when privatization prevails. There was the tainted water Walkerton disaster. There were many deaths in for-profit nursing homes during the COVID crisis. Let’s face it. When investors enter such sectors, they expect and demand profits, often at the expense of safety, staffing, and, worst of all, the people these utilities and facilities serve.
Given that the Carney government seems to be pursuing a course of privatization, at least in terms of national airports, we need to be reminded that those who invest in our assets are motivated only by one imperative: stakeholder profit.
Although the following story is from the United States, it serves as a sobering reminder that the cost of privatization may be one too high to pay.