Public Service Alliance of Canada BC

The Public Service Alliance of Canada has called on the Prime Minister to mandate the Auditor General of Canada to review the federal government’s plan to sell nine office buildings and lease them back from the new owners. The text of the PSAC’s letter to the Prime Minister is below.

June 27, 2007

The Right Honourable Stephen Harper
Prime Minister of Canada
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A6

Dear Prime Minister:

The sale of nine office buildings owned by Canadians will lead to one of the largest sales of public assets ever, assuming the government endorses Minister Fortier’s view that the federal government should not be in the business of owning real estate assets.

This transaction is taking place behind such a heavy veil of secrecy it may well do harm to your call for greater transparency and openness in government. To date, Minister Fortier has refused to release any details related to any aspect of the transaction.

The Public Service Alliance of Canada has deep concerns about the merits of the sale and lease back plan and serious questions about its costs and benefits. We believe that taxpayers will pay $2 in leasing costs for every $1 gained in proceeds from the sale of the buildings.

Only with the public release of key documents related to the sale will Canadians be able to judge the merits of this approach, which brings me to a specific recommendation we wish to make concerning the independent third party review process Minister Fortier has established as a means of ensuring the bidding process is “fair”.

We are concerned that the Minister has or will appoint a private company to play this role, that the review will be conducted in secret and that the results of the review will be withheld from the public.

In the interests of transparency and given the scope of this transaction, we urge you to appoint the Auditor General of Canada to conduct this third party review and to expand the mandate to examine the costs and benefits of the sale and leaseback plan and to report the findings publicly so that all will know if this arrangement is fair to taxpayers.

I hope you will give our recommendation urgent consideration.

Sincerely,

John Gordon,
National President,
Public Service Alliance of Canada