Democratize Crown Corporations, not privatize them

Green Party of Saskatchewan 
October 15, 2012

The Green Party of Saskatchewan (GPS) is encouraging the Saskatchewan Party Government not to privatize the Information Services Corporation of Saskatchewan (ISC). GPS Leader Victor Lau thinks this would be a huge mistake, “The voters of Saskatchewan have demonstrated time and again that they are not in favour of privatizing Crown Corporations. Yet the Saskatchewan Party Government insists on defying the wishes of the Saskatchewan electorate.”

Lau says privatization is not the way to make the Crowns more accountable. Instead, Lau says these agencies should be democratized by transforming them into Crown Co-operatives. As a Crown Co-operative, ISC would still be owned by the taxpayers of the province through the Government of Saskatchewan, but these agencies would operate like cooperatives. The key features of Crown Co-operatives would include:

• The election of the Board of Directors,
• A public annual general meeting,
• The paying of dividends to taxpayers (when it is feasible to do so), and
• The publishing of quarterly financial reports.

“Saskatchewan Crown Corporations need to be democratized, not privatized,” says Lau. “This means the balance of power within each Crown Co-op would lie with the taxpayers of Saskatchewan.”