“This white paper says loud and clear that it shouldn’t matter if providers are from the state, private or voluntary sector as long as they offer a great service. The old, narrow, closed state monopoly is dead.”
- David Cameron on the Open Public Services White Paper, The Guardian, July 11, 2011

QUEEN’S PARK – Public sector unions would compete with private sector unions, not-for-profits and businesses to provide and deliver government services under an Ontario PC government, Leader Tim Hudak said today.

“If we’re going to pull Ontario out of Dalton McGuinty’s jobs and spending crisis we need to think in innovative new ways,” Hudak said. “Creating competition in government service delivery can help us break away from hidebound, dated approaches to serving the public. It will also make government more efficient, freeing up savings for the services we all value – such as health care and education.”

Competition will ensure effective use of taxpayer dollars, improve customer service and promote innovation in service delivery, Hudak added, noting the role of government would be to supervise the competitive process and set and enforce standards.

“Our plan would encourage public employees to submit bids and compete – to bring private sector competitive pressures and incentives to the public sector,” Hudak said.

“If government workers can do a better job delivering a given service, fine. But there’s only one way to find out – by making them compete.”

Key benefits of Hudak’s competition plan include:

  • Cost savings: Competition encourages would-be service providers to keep costs to a minimum or lose the contract to a more efficient competitor.
  • Quality improvements: A competitive process encourages bidders to offer the best possible service quality to win out over their rivals.
  • Improved risk management: Governments are better able to control costs by building cost-containment provisions into contracts.
  • Innovation: The need for lower-cost, higher-quality services under competition encourages providers to create new, cutting-edge solutions to help win and retain government contracts.

“Under this form of managed competition, it doesn’t matter whether public or private sector employees earn the contract,” Hudak said. “The simple introduction of competition means that taxpayers win either way.

“With examples like these in hand, I say again to Premier McGuinty: You’re out of ideas for creating jobs, balancing the books and turning our economy around – so please take mine.”