Letter: Beware the endless, creeping march of privatization

There’s a common joke in Canada, typically deployed during comment section arguments between Canucks and Americans: “When someone makes a mean joke about being Canadian, I go get my feelings checked for FREE”; a reference to our pro-bono national health care system and an obvious jab at the ghastly prices of our southern counterpart.

Yet, such jokes are becoming completely deprived of their humour (if they ever were funny to begin with).

The latest assaults on our public infrastructure, combined with the not-so-quiet expansion of privatization, should warn everybody that distance and borders are not the only thing separating us from our neighbours. More than ever, we should be rallying around our working class families that are ringing the alarm bells from the picket lines.

The recent Canada Post / Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) labour dispute is a prime example. Quite a hot topic in the news cycle, with mainstream outlets consistently pouring gasoline on the narrative blaze that the Crown corporation is in dire need of reform due to financial woes and outdated operating procedures. The supposed fix? Cut services, close offices and leave thousands unemployed.

Of course Mark Carney’s Liberal government, in the midst of an austerity blitz and checking couch cushions for billions of dollars in new military spending targets, is ecstatic to welcome such changes. His euphoria is perhaps only surpassed by that of Canada Post CEO Doug Ettinger’s.

In his letter to Sudbury.com, Ettinger mentions that private companies are getting a bigger piece of the parcel delivery pie, contributing to Canada Post’s losses. One has to wonder if he would support stronger regulations on these often “gigified,” environmentally-destructive private couriers whose work models promote unsafe, exploitative labour practices, in an effort to steer more customers to Canada Post.

Then again, Ettinger himself sits on the board of Purolator, one of said private companies (in which Canada Post has a 91-per-cent stake) that happens to be quite profitable, reporting around $300 million in profits for 2023. Quite revealing; the current state of affairs could surely only be described as a conflict of interest.

Turning our attention to more local matters, the Ontario Public Service Employees’ Union (OPSEU) strike paints another grim picture of impending privatization efforts, this time spearheaded by Doug Ford’s Oxymoronic (Progressive Conservative) Party.

Support workers from Ontario colleges are putting a magnifying glass to the starvation of funds experienced by the province’s post-secondary institutions. In a report issued in September, OPSEU states that Ontario’s colleges “stand on the brink of collapse,” as schools across the province are looking at cuts of approximately 10,000 jobs.

Furthermore, the report also states that in 2023, an Ontario-commissioned Blue Ribbon Panel “...recommended immediately increasing provincial operating funding to institutions by 10 per cent, representing approximately $140 million system wide.”

Instead, the Ford government announced with jubilance an additional $800-million commitment into the Skills Development Fund (SDF), an investment program geared towards providing successful private sector applicants with the means to train and hire skilled workers, leaving our proven and effective education system in tatters.

What’s been touted as a dream-like fix to unemployment instead has been outed as “not fair, transparent or accountable” in its applicant selection process, as revealed in an Oct. 1 audit conducted by the Office of the Auditor General of Ontario.

Among a litany of questionable practices, including documented efforts from companies to lobby the government prior to their applications being selected, the audit also notes “In Rounds 1 and 2 of the SDF, the Minister’s Office did not share a documented reason for why it selected the 388 funded applications, which collectively received $479 million in funding”. Sure reeks of legitimacy.

The continued destruction of our public services will have devastating effects for our economy and working class material conditions. Education, health care, environmental protections — nothing will be spared if we don’t speak up. The rug is being pulled — yanked — out from underneath us.

Get out and visit workers on the picket lines. Hear their experiences. Do the research. Stop parroting talking points from corporate media backed by the very people who stand to profit from privatization, before the damages are irreversible.

Pretty soon, the next time someone makes a mean joke about being Canadian, getting your feelings checked might cost you a pretty penny.