WALL’S IDEA POOR POLICY
Premier Brad Wall certainly had tongues wagging this week by again musing about the possible sale of SaskTel, qualifying his remarks with a lot of “ifs,” and sticking to his mantra that it will be left to Saskatchewan citizens to decide on the future of a public utility with a demonstrably loyal customer base.
“If we get an offer and we think it’s one that generates a significant amount of money for the province — maybe enough to eliminate our operating debt — if it takes care of the jobs question in Regina, if it provides the opportunity for better coverage, we’re at least going to take it to the people,” Mr. Wall said.
While he took pains to note there is no actual offer on the table, Mr. Wall said part of new SaskTel minister Dustin Duncan’s duties would be to lead the privatization process and advocate for it should a buyer materialize.
Certainly, it’s the duty of any responsible government to evaluate the merits of selling a public asset if it’s presented with an attractive offer, despite the seeming penchant of Saskatchewan residents in the past to consider their Crown companies as sacrosanct.
However, the premier’s latest pronouncements offer some reason for concern, in particular the implication that an offer might be considered suitable if the revenue can erase the province’s operating debt — the spending shortfalls accumulated over the decades in providing public services — that stands at $4.1 billion.
Consider that SaskTel itself has a debt of more than $936 million. That means the sale price likely would have to be in the range of $5 billion to do what Mr. Wall suggests — greatly exceeding the $3.9 billion in stock that Bell put up recently to acquire full ownership of MTS in Manitoba.
Even if a buyer is eager to ante up that much cash despite the conditions attached — retaining jobs in Regina, improving coverage, possibly even a requirement to serve rural customers at least to the extent SaskTel does — it’s simply a short-sighted policy to use the money to eliminate the operating debt. That debt is the result of providing programs that cost more than was raised by taxes, fees and royalties, and to sell a revenue generator to pay the bill without addressing the underlying problems is a poor policy. Pay as you go needs to be the guiding principle.
If an incredibly good offer presents itself, Mr. Wall’s pitch to voters should be to use the money to finally establish the promised heritage fund for the future, with its investment income helping to cushion resource revenue fluctuations that bedevil Saskatchewan.