PRIVATE ENTREPRENEURS TO THE RESCUE OF OUR SCHOOLS

MIGUEL OUELLETTE, DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS AND ECONOMIST AT MEI
(MONTREAL’S ECONOMIC INSTITUTE)
Monday, 30 November 2020

One of the important issues these days, in the context of COVID-19, is ventilation in our schools. The Quebec government has no idea of the state of ventilation systems in Quebec schools. According to an infectiologist, “we must quickly correct the situation. In fact, the current solution is to dress children warmly and open windows in some classrooms, even in winter!

This situation is worthy of a banana republic. It is inconceivable that in a relatively wealthy province like ours, our children should have to bear the costs of overly centralized and bureaucratic management.

SOLUTIONS

But fortunately, the market and entrepreneurs have solutions to address the shortcomings of governments.

Companies, such as Minimise Québec, can quickly modernize or install air purifying ventilation systems in schools with agreements that do not require capital investment by governments.

According to the newspaper Les Affaires, “Minimise’s business model would allow Quebec schools to kill two birds with one stone during the pandemic: finance – without spending a penny up front – the installation of new air filtration equipment to limit the spread of CORONAVIRUS-19, while improving the overall energy efficiency of schools. »

In short, the customer does not need to invest or spend additional money to achieve energy efficiency gains. The equipment is paid for by the company, which will then pay for itself with the customer’s future savings in energy expenses. This is provided that the energy savings are at least 17% in the building.

This innovation in terms of business model is all the more appreciable given that today, many companies and governments are indebted and do not always have the funds to make the equipment and capital investments that these projects require.

PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP

This is another example of how entrepreneurship and the private sector can help fill the gaps in our public services for the benefit of taxpayers! It would be completely absurd to believe that the government can specialize in all sectors and operate without the expertise of the private sector. Public-private partnerships are an excellent way to save taxpayers money while ensuring better management of our public finances.

Moreover, as the newspaper Les Affaires points out, schools are not the only sector under the Minimise banner in Quebec. “Eventually, the company would also like to offer its services in three other sectors: street lighting, the health care system (hospitals, CLSCs, CHSLDs) and the Quebec government’s real estate holdings. »

That’s the beauty of the market, whether we’re talking about that specific company or others. Entrepreneurs have come up with ways to solve these problems while saving governments money. It’s the market economy, and thus entrepreneurship and the pursuit of profit, that makes it all happen. Let’s not forget that.

The freer the market and entrepreneurs are to create solutions to community problems, the more naturally such solutions emerge, rather than being imposed from above by politicians who too often have no expertise in the specific sector in question. Taxpayers and our children deserve more than what we are offering them now.

PRIVATE ENTREPRENEURS TO THE RESCUE OF OUR SCHOOLS

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