NDP: Province didn’t do risk assessment on shutdown

The Saskatchewan NDP says the provincial government has some explaining to do after suggesting it did not conduct a risk assessment, an economic impact assessment or consult its ministries before making the decision to shut down the provincial bus company.

Legislative documents show the Saskatchewan Party government responded with “not applicable” to written questions about whether six different ministries were asked for input on the controversial decision to shutter the Saskatchewan Transportation Co.

The public documents also show the government responded with “no” to two additional questions about whether it performed a risk assessment and an economic impact assessment before announcing the decision in its unpopular 2017-18 budget.

That suggests the decision was made without first getting a full assessment of what shutting down the Crown corporation would cost taxpayers over the long run or how it would affect the ministries, according to the Opposition’s Crown Investments Corp. critic.

“When you take a public asset like STC … and you sell it off, I think that there should be, necessarily, accountability there. There should be full transparency,” said Carla Beck, MLA for Regina Lakeview, in an interview.

Joe Hargrave, minister responsible for STC, responded in the legislature this week by saying the government did study STC and concluded that it would be better to put between $85 million and $100 million in subsidies into other programs over the next five years.

Asked to clarify the meaning of “not applicable,” government spokeswoman Kathy Young responded with an emailed statement that reiterated the point Hargrave made while addressing the legislature.

“Cabinet makes decisions based on providing Saskatchewan people with the essential services they need while being fiscally responsible,” Young said in the statement.The government has said previously the total cost of winding up STC is not yet known.

The decision to shut down STC — which the government has pledged not to reverse — has come under attack from the activist group Save STC, part of Stop the Cuts, which has repeatedly requested a full audit of the shutdown’s financial implications.

The group’s argument hinges on a 2013 report in which Ontario’s auditor concluded that the proposed wind-up of the Ontario Northlands Transportation Commission could cost taxpayers three times more than the government expected to save over the short term.

Government documents released last week by the NDP suggest the bus company’s closure could lead to higher shipping costs for medical supplies, and showed a top Ministry of Health official asking colleagues for their thoughts on the decision’s effects after it was announced.

Beck this week slammed the government for taking six months to respond to the party’s written questions, and then doing so in ambiguous terms. The implication, she said, is that government started “cutting before measuring.”

“Either they know (what the effects of shutting down STC will be) and they don’t want to tell us, or they simply haven’t done their due diligence, they haven’t done their homework here — and that is very concerning.”