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Reviews

“If you build it . . .” Preface (PDF) • Andrew Stark

"An accurate and penetrating account of a good idea gone wrong. Read, reflect, and take action: not back to the old models, but to getting the relationship between enterprise and public interest on a better track." — Hon. Bob Rae, Premier of Ontario, 1990-1995

"This book should be a textbook in public policy." — Andy Barrie, Host, Metro Morning, CBC Radio One

" . . . the authors stick to the facts. But the result is a devastating indictment of the Mike Harris government that, in the process of exposing one plain-to-see scandal, makes an urgent case for similar histories of that sad, scary era of public-sector mismanagement." — John Barber, The Globe and Mail, in "407 selloff Toronto's own Churchill Falls"

"This telling exposé will rank as an important document in the history of Ontario and the Harris government, it's not just a story about highways or transportation …. The book is superb at exposing a calamity in a detailed way."— John Barber, The Globe and Mail

"If you build it …….. is excellent, in-depth, and comprehensive. I commend it to you to read and talk about among your colleagues." — George Davies, former deputy minister, Ministry of Transportation of Ontario

"accurate ..... informative ...... great reading........" — Gilles Pouliot, Ontario Minister of Transportation, 1991 - 94

"The authors conclude that the decision to essentially give away the store, in the form of a 99-year lease, was a huge error in judgement that was driven partly by ideological fervor . . . We can only hope that our political masters and our private sector stakeholders learn the lessons that the authors have drawn and that we can avoid making the same mistakes again." — Association of Management, Administrative and Professional Crown Employees of Ontario (AMAPCEO) Newsletter, June 2005. Read the entire article online at www.amapceo.on.ca/home/file_June_2005_final.pdf.

"The book offers lessons in how to make public partnerships work but is mostly a thorough dissection of this specific venture . . ." — Globe and Mail columnist Harvey Schachter, July 6, 2005. Read the excerpted article.

April 14: Globe and Mail columnist John Barber featured the commentary of author Sandford Borins in an article entitled "Solve Transit Needs with Tested Methods." "You can argue the pros and cons of tolls forever, but fact is quickly overtaking theory as road pricing of one sort or another re-emerges all over the developed world, from the City of London to Markham, Ont. And road tolls specifically assigned to offset transit construction are both economically sound and politically saleable. . . . 'It's a good revenue stream to use because you're not calling on the general revenues of the province," noted Sandford Borins, co-author of If You Build It . . . a history of the 407. . . . Drivers would pay an independent body directly for the purpose of building a transit system that, in turn, will pull hundreds of thousands of congesting cars off the road. 'You're taking the people who benefit most directly from a good transit system,' according to Professor Borins."