While the provincial legislature continues its extended recess, the government continues to march ahead on various fronts with policy announcements via news release.

Youth Detention Centres

While the CTF has been critical of the lack of a privatization minister in Cabinet, it seems that the province may still have some zeal - albeit small - for privatization.

The Minister of Community and Social Services recently announced plans to privatize five more juvenile detention centres. To date, 99 of the province's 104 juvenile detention centres have been privatized. Some Ontarians - mainly the affected labour groups - have expressed concerns about the prospect of privatizing facilities where more serious offenders currently reside.

It is a legitimate concern; some detention centres in the USA were privatized but have since reverted to public sector management in the wake of rising concerns about community safety. But unlike the experience south of the border, where monitoring standards and other essential issues where not written into the contracts, the province's privatization program seems poised for success.

The key to privatization effort is in defining service standards, and building in checks and balances into the service delivery contract to ensure that these standards are met. If they're not met, the provider doesn't get paid. Incentives, such as mitigating public safety concerns, can be built in to the contract to encourage innovative, efficient, and effective service delivery. It is here where the public policy motives of service, safety and rehabilitation marry nicely with private sector motives to earn a return for shareholders.

Projected savings through these new services arrangements could be as high as 10-15%. We'll be watching…

School Board Savings

Amidst the controversy surrounding changes to education in Ontario, scarce attention has been given to the most recent report of the Education Improvement Commission. Next to health care, education is the second largest provincial expenditure, so news about savings is important to taxpayers.

Bill 160, restructured all of the province's Boards of Education, and also changed the way education is funded by the province. Throughout the long and protracted battle over this legislation taxpayers were concerned about the costs and benefits of these changes.

The Education Improvement Commission's latest report states that Ontario's school boards are spending less than before restructuring. In particular, the number of supervisory officers have fallen from 707 in 1997 to 515 in 1998, an estimated savings of $26 million.

The next challenge will be to ensure education dollars reach and remain in the classroom. Last month a furor erupted over the government's Millennium souvenir books sent to all of Ontario's primary and secondary students, and rightly so. It seems school boards are doing more with less, if only the provincial government can erase it's big black eye from this Millennium book boondoggle and earn the public's trust for their continuing efforts. Pardon the pun, but we will wait to see if they have learned …

Restructuring Update

Tony Clement, the acting Minister for Municipal Affairs and Housing has announced the appointment of four transition teams to be put in place for to facilitate the development of five new cities in Sudbury, Ottawa, Hamilton, Haldimand and Norfolk regions. Restructuring of local government seems to be on track.