Sell SaskTel and create legacy fund

The provincial government’s recent announcement to repeal the Crown privatization bill is short sighted. There was a time when Crowns served a purpose and the romance many people in this province have with them is fanatical.

At one time when the vast majority of people lived on farms, getting them connected was a role for government. But the world has changed and government’s role should be providing essential services, not selling booze or telephones. SaskTel is not an essential service and should be sold, at the very minimum 49 per cent of it.

It is a depreciating asset. Want proof ? Just search “telcos losing money.” SaskTel is reportedly worth $4 billion to $6 billion on the open market. We, the taxpayers of this province, are the shareholders of the Crowns. SaskTel is an island, the only state owned telco on a continent that has 400 million people.

Four billion dollars can go a long way to creating a legacy fund to address the incoming tsunami in health care, taking care of the homeless, the mentally ill, and the working poor.

Call it the Tommy Douglas Legacy Fund if you must, but do the right thing and realize the capital gain for the future of this great province.

The announcement is purely political and not based on what is best for the province. We currently have leadership races for both major political parties and not one of them has broached the biggest issue facing us, health care.

Democracy is broken if you can’t stand by your principles.

Daryl Cooper, Saskatoon