A public-private partnership project to expand residential care on Vancouver Island has won a national award for innovation from the Canadian Council for Public-Private Partnerships (CCPPP).

The Vancouver Island Health Authority Residential Care and Assisted Living Capacity Initiative won the Award of Merit for Innovative Procurement. This project will deliver 1,050 new residential care and assisted living units across eight different communities on Vancouver Island by 2008.

"I'd like to congratulate everyone involved in this project. Receiving an award from the Canadian Council for Public-Private Partnerships is a testament to the fact that British Columbia is doing partnerships right," said Premier Gordon Campbell, who gave a keynote address to the CCPPP annual national convention on Nov. 26. "Public-private partnerships are delivering real benefits to communities across the province, and as our infrastructure needs grow, we'll continue to use these partnerships where they make sense for taxpayers and communities."

The annual awards recognize innovation and excellence in the structuring and delivery of public private partnerships, an area in which B.C. continues to be a leader across North America.

"Improving our residential care and assisted living capacity means improved access to services for seniors and reduced pressures on our hospitals and emergency rooms," said Health Minister George Abbott. "These beds will give seniors on Vancouver Island more choices to provide them with the support they need."

"Meeting the shortfall in long-term adult residential care beds on Vancouver Island and creating more than 1,000 new spaces by 2008 required an innovative approach of integrating design, construction and operational efficiencies. The success of this project was made possible by the expertise and dedication of everyone involved," said VIHA CEO, Howard Waldner.

"Partnerships BC is pleased to be working on behalf of the Province to deliver partnership projects on time and on budget with significant economic benefits," said Larry Blain, Partnerships BC's chief executive officer. "This award provides further validation of B.C.'s track record of success."

The Canadian Council for Public-Private Partnerships is a national non-partisan, non-profit organization founded in 1993 to conduct research, publish findings and promote discussion of the benefits and risks of public-private partnerships in Canada and abroad. It is entirely funded by members, who are divided almost equally between the public and private sectors. For more information, visit www.pppcouncil.ca.

B.C.'s partnership projects have won awards from the Canadian Council for Public-Private Partnerships for four years running. In the past three years, the Kicking Horse Canyon Phase Two Project, the Britannia Mine Water Treatment Plant Project, the Golden Ears Bridge Project, the Sea-to-Sky Highway Improvement Project, the Abbotsford Regional Hospital and Cancer Centre Project and the Sierra Yoyo Desan Resource Road in northeastern B.C. have each been award recipients.

B.C. currently has $7.8 billion invested in more than 25 public private partnership projects, which includes $5 billion of private capital. For more information on these projects, visit Partnerships BC at www.partnershipsbc.ca.