Is Premier Wall About To Reneg On His Pledge To NOT Privatize Saskatchewan Crown Corporations?
The Saskatchewan Party lost the 2003 provincial election because then leader, Elwin Hermanson said to a reporter, "why wouldn't we look at selling crown corporations?" That one sentence resonated negatively with voters and ensured the defeat of the surging Saskatchewan Party.
Shortly thereafter, the Saskies ditched Elwin and elected the charismatic, young Brad Wall.
New leader, Wall, was smart enough to understand that his party's right wing ideology was simply not going to fly in a province that understood the importance of public enterprise for the overall good of taxpayers.
Under Wall's direction, the Saskatchewan Party immediately and firmly disavowed ANY crown liquidation and after 16 years of New Democratic rule, finally won an electoral mandate in 2007.
Wall's biggest challenge as Premier centers around trying to control and contain a rabid faction of his Party that lives and breaths hard right wing 'Reform Party' ideology. To appease this Right wing faction, Wall has been challenged to find ways to limit Crown enterprise in the province. Each year, Crown enterprise profits are stripped away and packaged into yet another business subsidy or corporate handout. This strategy does not kill a crown corporation but ensures that it cannot grow or expand.
But what's this? It seems that after 5 years in power, Premier Wall has now decided to stick his big toe into privatization waters.
Information Services Corporation (ISC) is a small Saskatchewan public enterprise that oversees the maintenance of the province's land titles, birth certificates and other critical data. Wall is making moves to liquid this Crown corp because he is currently struggling to appease the hard Right in his Caucus.
Not so fast Mr. Wall ................ this will surely bite you in the butt if you are not careful!
-Official Opposition News Release
