REGINA – NDP leader Cam Broten announced on Tuesday that if elected his government will be dedicated to protecting Saskatchewan’s crown corporations.
The NDP pointed out that Brad Wall and the Sask. Party have already sold Information Services Corporation, is in the process of selling 40 profitable liquor stores, and tried to sell SaskGaming until the NDP asked to put a stop to that.
“In the last election, Mr. Wall kept all those plans secret – he didn’t tell Saskatchewan people he was going to sell off profitable Crowns and protected land,” said Broten.
“But that’s exactly what he did, even in good economic times. Now that he’s looking for money to plug his deficit, what sell-off plan is Mr. Wall hiding?”
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Broten wants Wall to lay out his plans for crown corporations before voters hit the polls on April 4th.
“Everywhere I go, I hear uneasiness about what the Sask. Party will do if given another four years in government,” said Broten.
“People are worried about draconian cuts to health care and education, and they’re worried about more costly privatization. They know we can’t trust what Mr. Wall says during an election.”
Brad Wall responded to the NDP promise at a rally in Saskatoon on Tuesday morning.
“They tried in two different elections to say we are going to sell the crowns and we are not,” Wall stated.
“There is something in Saskatchewan that we signed on too called the Crown Corporation Protective Act and basically it protects crowns from being privatized, and the only change we will make to that is to liquor retail if we are re-elected.”
Broten pointed to the sell-off of Manitoba Telecom Services as an example of how privatization will cost families more. Basic home phone services in Manitoba are now 38 cents higher than in Saskatchewan.
While admitting to some privatization, Wall dismissed any hidden agenda of future sell-offs.
“If we’re re-elected we’ll make one change, that’s to the liquor retailing in the province which we’ve already committed too,” said Wall.
“But will it be changed in respect to SaskTel, no. SaskPower, no. SaskEnergy, no. SGI, no.”
Both the PC Party and the Liberals have expressed they have no plans to sell off any of Saskatchewan’s crown corporations either. The Saskatchewan Green Party has voiced plans to convert the crown corporations to customer governed crown co-operatives.
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