REGINA – The Saskatchewan government has introduced legislation to sell off shares in a crown corporation.
Sixty per cent of Information Services Corporation will be sold to the public, with 40 per cent remaining in the hands of government.
Of the 60 per cent being sold, five per cent will be offered to current ISC employees, 45 per cent to Saskatchewan citizens and the remaining to outside investors.
No individual or group will be allowed to purchase more than 15 per cent of the shares sold.
The government will hold one “golden share” to ensure the head office remains in Saskatchewan.
Don McMorris, the minister responsible for ISC, says the sale will allow the company to expand beyond Saskatchewan.
“ISC has built a Saskatchewan success story that other jurisdictions have shown interest in doing business with,” said McMorris.
“A privately-operated ISC will have the ability to use that advantage to enter into new markets that a Crown-owned company would not.”
New Democrat Cathy Sproule says the Saskatchewan Party had pledged not to privatize Crowns.
Sproule says the party never mentioned the sale in the provincial election campaign last year or in the throne speech last month.
She also says it’s a highly profitable corporation and selling it means taxpayers will lose that money.
The government estimates the sale will raise between $90- and $120-million depending on market conditions.
That money will then be used to address infrastructure priorities.
Not included in the sale is vital statistics, which will be transferred to another branch.
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