"The Auditor General is planning to review a number of the government's "public-private partnership" projects. He intends to provide an assessment of the extent to which processes used are consistent with best practices, with particular emphasis on project governance, project management structures and processes, transparency and accountability. A number of types of projects are being considered: large transportation infrastructure initiatives, such as the RAV line and the Sea-to-Sky Highway Improvements projects; the creation of new facilities such as the Abbotsford Hospital and Cancer Centre and the Britannia Mine Water Treatment Plant; and outsourcing initiatives in areas such as the health sector and government management services."
Auditor General, Request for Expressions of Interest, March 30, 2004, BC Bid® website

There is a certain irony that the Auditor General is contracting out "to supplement and support the professional resources of his office" in his review of public-private partnerships. The request for expressions of interest closes on April 30, 2004. Potential advisors to the Auditor are told that they may be expected to provide 50 hours of their time over 9 months. That means that the Auditor's report on the Campbell government's experiment with P3s may be released just before the May 17, 2005, election. The Campbell government should take note that it cannot hide, or at least it cannot hide everything.

The Abbotsford Hospital is down to one bidder. Perhaps the Auditor will comment on how any process can be called competitive with only one proponent. The Hospital Employees' Union commissioned auditor Ron Parks, and he released his report on February 25, 2003, exposing risks to the public in the experiment. HEU also commissioned independent researcher and consultant Lewis Auerbach, a former director with the Office of the Auditor General of Canada, whose March 3, 2004, report questioned the 30 year length of the proposed contract. BC's Auditor General would be wise to use those reports to assist him in his review.

The Auditor's inclusion of the RAV line on his list of projects that might be reviewed helps to refute any denial of responsibility by the Campbell government. The Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority is a creature of provincial statute, and the proposed RAV line will include provincial funding. As recognized by the Auditor, the Campbell government must be held accountable for at least some part of the project.

It would be in the public interest if the Auditor also examined the B.C. Ferry Authority and the British Columbia Ferry Corporation. They are about to privatize ferry routes using their bizarre corporate structure that puts the operation of BC Ferries beyond public scrutiny. That won't be done, however, because the Campbell government amended the Auditor General Act to specifically exclude the Ferry Authority and Corporation from the Auditor's authority. What do they have to hide?