Yet again the provincial government has approved a Crown rate hike - effective January 1, 2013, most customers will see a rate increase between $4 - $6 per month.Although the government claims that SaskPower has not raised rates since August 2010, they did take a $120-million special dividend. Money that could have been used to invest in infrastructure upgrades that are being cited as reasoning for this rate increase.When looking at rate increases, it is also important to consider the Crown utilities bundle that is offered to customers in Saskatchewan. Prior to 2007, our province was commited ...

This blog is in response to a letter that appeared in the StarPhoenix on September 28, 2012 titled "Poor Service."SaskTel has spent decades building a telecommunications network in Saskatchewan that is second to none, but restrictions set out by CRTC do not allow our Crown to choose the rates that customer are charged for telephone service – urban or rural. Although SaskTel believes that every customer in Saskatchewan should have the same access to reliable and affordable service, we do not always have the ability to set those parameters.  This is a similar situation with the decisi...

With the current government selling off bits and pieces of our power industry to out-of-province power companies, today we take a few minutes to look into Saskatchewan’s future power industry. Power Purchase Agreements (PPA’s), in their simplest terms, are contracts with private power companies to supply power to the Saskatchewan grid. Many PPA’s are signed for ‘peak load’ power, which means that when Saskatchewan is using a high amount of power, SaskPower can purchase excess from these providers. In some cases, our government is actually signing agreements are fo...

As stated in Murray Mandryk’s column in the Leader-Post earlier this month, ‘Healthy Crowns can’t be privatized,’ it was very obvious how practical it is to maintain healthy Crown Corporations. Although it may be true that some businesses could function effectively in the private sector, it has been proven across Canada that privatization doesn’t benefit consumers over the long term. Consider the state of the electricity in Alberta, where consumers are being forced to pay for infrastructure upgrades, although the system has been deregulated for a decade. Edmonton ...

After the government's decision to ax the film employment tax credit in the most recent provincial budget, the Saskatchewan Motion Picture Industry Association (SMPIA) is asking for support from the public.SMPIA’s President, Ron Goetz is asking for your voice to be heard by the government about “how the film industry has positively affected the lives of Saskatchewan people from the student getting a film degree at the University of Regina to the many, many everyday Saskatchewan people who understand the importance of jobs, investment, promotion, culture and creative expression.&rdq...

Crown Corporations including SaskPower, SaskEnergy and the SGI Auto Fund regularly review their rates and pricing through applications to the Saskatchewan Rate Review Panel (SRRP). The Panel provides an opinion to the Government after review of these applications regarding the whether the rate change is reasonable – taking into consideration the interested of the customer, the Crown Corporation, and the public.Currently, SaskEnergy and SGI’s Auto Fund have pending applications that will be discussed in public meetings in the next month.  If you are interested in attending any ...

Although we are separated by distance, the shift of employers turning to the use of contracting out jobs rather than using their own employees seems to be a universal issue. One case that has been brought to our attention is a struggle happening in New Zealand at the Port of Auckland. The Port is owned by the people of Auckland through their Council but managed by a Board at arm’s length. Government legislation removed the requirement for the people of Auckland to agree to any privatization by referendum. Thus, the government has given themselves legislative power to privatize without co...

SaskTel President and CEO, Ron Styles, notified employees this week that they were no longer under the constraints of the government’s restrictive Sask First Policy.  He stated that, “with the sale of The Hospitality Network in 2011, SaskTel completed the last divesture related to the Government of Saskatchewan’s SaskFirst Policy.” This is in addition to the sale of AgDealer, DirectWest Canada, Saskatoon Square, and Navigata. Although not all of the subsidiaries sold were core business assets, some are required for ongoing operation of our current business. An exam...

Today SOS Crowns will join thousands of students, working men and women, and community members across Canada to raise awareness about issues relating to  post-secondary education.Skyrocketing tuition, mounting student debt, and the chronic underfunding of Canada's post-secondary institutions are just some of the issues that will discussed at the event.SOS Crowns is supporting the National Day Of Action because we believe that  post-secondary education should be available and accessible to all people, so today we will stand in solidarity so that students' voices across the country can...

With just over two weeks having passed since the Saskatchewan provincial election, Premier Brad Wall is already making comments that are stirring up conversations about whether or not SaskTel should be privatized.Over the years amidst increased competition, SaskTel has stacked up well to the much larger competitors across the country like Rogers, Bell, and Telus. Last year in a Consumer Reports Canada special report, SaskTel actually scored far above these other well known companies. SaskTel received the “highest marks across the board for voice connectivity-as in service with good cover...

Today is Saskatchewan, Crown Corporations are being sold off, contracted out, deregulated and dismantled slowly by the Brad Wall government.  As the people of the province, we are being lied to about the future of the very organizations that we have built from the ground up. Today in Saskatchewan when the government says they have not sold off any Crown Corporations, ask them about the Saskatchewan Communications Network. A Crown that was valued at nearly $4 million and was attributed to attracting millions of dollars a year for the television film industry in Saskatchewan – SOLD f...

Aside from the outright sale of Crown Corporations and their subsidiaries, the Brad Wall government has made significant policy changes that affect the future of Crowns in Saskatchewan.Sask First Policy One of the first major attacks on the future of our Crowns was the adoption of the Sask First Policy in late 2008. Although it is called a ‘policy framework’ according to a news release, it is unclear whether a formal written policy as even been produced. A CIC representative stated “There is no written policy available...Cabinet’s direction on the policy framework is es...

It is clear that the people of Saskatchewan are being deceived.  Our current government has made many claims regarding the future of Crown Corporations in Saskatchewan. One of which was a statement from our current Premier stating “Crowns are not going to be privatized and (subsidiaries) are not going to be wound down.” Our current government`s actions have been nothing but contrary to this statement.Merriam Webster defines the word privatize as the process “to make private; especially to change (as a business or industry) from public to private control or ownership.&rdq...

Following a government mandate to sell off “non-core” businesses SaskTel announced last week it was dumping two companies and a real estate investment.Hospitality Network (HospNet) and AgDealer are on the sale block  as well as SaskTel selling its real estate investment in Saskatoon Square while remaining a tenant of the property.This follows the Saskatchewan First Policy which was first adopted by our current government in 2008. Although it is called a ‘policy framework’ according a news release, it is unclear whether a formal written policy has even been produc...

Saskatchewan's Crowns are in danger. SOS has placed the valuable and vibrant Crowns on the Species at Risk list as a "threatened species." This is not the worst designation so there is still time to return the Crowns to a non-threatened existence to benefit all citizens of Saskatchewan.  Special concern species: a species that may become a threatened or an endangered species because of a combination of environmental threats. Our Crowns are already past his point because of the Saskatchewan Party government's actions.  Threatened species: a species that is likely to become e...