STC REACHING ITS FINAL STOP
Judge rejects attempt to save Saskatchewan Transportation Company
The Saskatchewan Transportation Company’s buses will carry its last passengers next week after a judge rejected the union’s efforts to scuttle the government’s planned shutdown of the 71-yearold Crown agency.
“(Friday’s) judgment by Justice (Lian) Schwann has affirmed the legality of our government’s actions,” STC Minister Joe Hargrave said in an emailed statement.
STC’s parcel service ended May 19, one day after the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1374 went to Regina’s Court of Queen’s Bench to argue for a judicial review or an interim injunction, effectively halting the closure or at least delaying it. Schwann had promised a quick decision as the clock ticked down toward the May 31 end date for passenger service, as revealed in the provincial budget in March.
In an interview Friday, union president Eric Carr called the outcome devastating for its 220 members employed by STC, their families, and for the bus company ’s users.
He said the Highway Transportation Board has yet to grant anyone licences to run routes. “I’m worried there will be parts of Saskatchewan after May 31 that will never have service again,” he said.
JoAnn Jaffe, spokesperson for Save the STC, believes the decision opens the door to privatization of Crowns without consultation. “While the judge recognized that the Crown Corporation Public Ownership Act (CCPOA) was designed to mandate public consultation before a wind-down, that requirement for consultation was taken away by Bill 40,” she said in an email.
“The hasty privatization of the STC remains a bad decision,” she said, worrying many people will be left without equivalent service, safety and security offered by the government bus service.
Before a packed courtroom last week, union lawyer Jim Fyshe had argued the shutdown was privatization through the back door — and the government hadn’t met all the procedural steps to privatize. But government lawyer Michael Morris and Robert Leurer, the lawyer representing STC and the Crown Investments Corporation, contended it was a “wind-up,” not privatization.
In applauding Schwann’s decision, Hargrave said, “We are also pleased that the court supported our government’s decision to define the word ‘privatize’ in legislation.” He called the omission of such a definition in the CCPOA of 2004 “glaring and surprising,” and fixed by Bill 40.
In her decision, Schwann said “the statutory definition of ‘privatize’ brought into law by Bill 40 expressly excludes wind-up and dissolution of Crown corporations.” So the CCPOA’s rules didn’t apply.
She also found there was no evidence before the court of a plan to transfer STC’s business operation or controlling interest to the private sector.
Carr said the union’s lawyers were still studying the decision, and hadn’t yet ruled out an appeal. He said the ATU has left “no stone unturned” in opposing the closure — whether before the legal courts or in the court of public opinion with an advertising campaign.
“We believe we made our point, and the people of Saskatchewan don’t want to see the service end,” said Carr.
In her 45-page decision, Schwann was clear the case turned on the law and not public sentiment.
“The creation and sustainability of Crown corporations has been a divisive political issue in Saskatchewan since their inception. Even the prospect of change evokes intense and passionate response from both politicians and electorate alike,” she wrote.
However, she added the government complied with the law to shut STC down.
“The decision to cease funding STC was both fiscal and legislative in nature, and in accordance with settled law, it is not subject to judicial review,” she also noted.
Begun in April 1946, STC has struggled financially the last 38 years. Government subsidies grew as passenger loads shrunk. On budget day, the finance minister said $85 million would be needed over the next five years to maintain the Crown agency.
Administrative staff will be retained to complete the shutdown. Greyhound has partnered with a courier company to maintain access to Saskatchewan’s freight market. The province has hired KPMG to liquidate STC’s physical assets.
STC plans to continue to service Greyhound customers, as per their agent contract, until late September.