Private Fire Service in Alberta

What do you guys think about this and the potential for the future of privatizing policing?

http://globalnews.ca/news/2435615/private-company-takes-over-fire-services-for-communities-near-edmonton/

Thanks for sharing.  Personally I don't have an issue with privatization of public services as long as two important factors are kept at the forefront: 1)the reliability and quality of service is comparable or better, and 2)the cost to the tax payer is comparable or more affordable.  As far as this particular development I will be watching it very closely.  I'm sure there will be challenges but real answers about whether this particular arrangement is a good idea will only be told over time.

Private equals for profit! Private equals - out of the public's control! This all translates into a communities looking at options they think will be a less expensive solution until a few years down the road they discover the obscure truth about privatization!

Some (very few) companies actually think, in the beginning, that they can or will do an honestly good job. I will use the air ambulance service here in Ontario, known as Ornge  http://www.ornge.ca/Pages/Default.aspx  Great, right? Well - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ornge

And Ontario still uses that company. Well, we are the brain trust of the country.... and yes I know, not all companies are bent. But they are, after all, out to make a profit. That is what private companies do.

When it comes to any form of emergency services (PD, FD, EMS etc) these services should remain PUBLIC SERVICES that are 100% public controlled.

That is a very narrow and non-progressive view.  It seems your assumption is that all for-profit organizations are unable to balance making a fair profit with ethics.  

Of course there are examples of profit and greed.  Thats because people can be greedy.  But that doesn't mean that there aren't people who have high ethical standards for themselves and for the organizations they create and work in. 

Whether you are talking about Public service or Private service providers, whats most important is accountability and checks and balances.  That is just as easily built into contracts with private entities as it is with public ones...perhaps even more so.

There is plenty of cases of inefficiency, corruption, and greed in the public service as well...

I'm not saying one is better than the other, but what I am saying is that neither system is the end all and be all for every situation or every municipality.

It is not a narrow and non-progressive view. It is simple fact!

Example: Community spends $50 millions on a service -

Contracted Private Source- a portion of that money will go to the infrastructure (which remains property of the company)  - a portion will go to wages and maybe even benefits  - a portion will go to growing the company - a portion will go to a dividend payout.

In-house - a portion will go to infrastructure that remains property of the community - a portion will go to better wages and benefits that will be paid to community members that will thrive on a better wage and benefit package. That building a stronger more self sustaining community.

I realize I am butting heads with business owners here. As for ethics - business ethics are all fine and dandy but in the end there is money going to shareholders/company owners/building the company that would otherwise go into the in-house service or supporting its members.

The more critical the service the more important this is. Ontario has been a prime example of of where farming out services to private sources in order to rid themselves of the managerial responsibility has repeatedly turned into massive messes.

Ornge and Hydro One are great examples of how out of control private contracting went for us here. Massive mishandling of money and accountability. in total combine it gone into the high hundreds of millions. So much for ethics and accountability.

We shall have to agree to disagree on this.

http://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2015/11/01/its-not-too-late-to-nix-disastrous-hydro-one-sell-off.html


http://www.pressprogress.ca/5_reasons_privatization_hydro_one_is_a_really_really_bad_idea


http://www.metronews.ca/news/toronto/2016/03/24/hydro-one-salaries-absent-from-ontario-sunshine-list.html

One of the most troubling issues is the fact that members of private companies are exempt for having the earnings made public in the, as its commonly called, the "sunshine list".

A hybrid system of privatization/public might be a good idea. I still have strong doubts though about leaning towards a system of total privatization of public services I still strongly feel is not a great system.