Well-known Vancouver writer and social activist Murray Dobbin
will be in Whistler Tuesday, May 2 for a lecture entitled Public-Private
Partnerships and How They Affect Our Community.
Dobbin’s lecture is being presented by Whistler Water Watch and
the Council of Canadians, two organizations opposed to P3s and advocates for
public control of water resources.
Earlier this year the Resort Municipality of Whistler issued a
request for proposals to three pre-qualified companies interested in designing,
building and operating Whistler’s waste water treatment plant and a planned
expansion of the plant. The contract was originally expected to be for 20 years
but the municipality is now also evaluating five and 10 year terms.
Dobbin, who is a past executive board member of the Council of
Canadians and a board member and researcher with the Canadian Centre for Policy
Alternatives, has been a journalist for the past 35 years. He has written for
the Financial Post, the Winnipeg Free Press, the Globe and Mail and contributes
regularly to The Tyee. He has also prepared radio documentaries for CBC Radio’s
Ideas series on subjects including taxes, human rights and the right-wing
remaking of New Zealand. He has also written five books, including 1998’s The
Myth of the Good Corporate Citizen – Democracy under the rule of Big
Business.
Dobbin will be speaking at the Spruce Grove Community Centre at
7:30 p.m. on May 2. Admission is free.
