“Sask First Policy will hurt viability of public utilities.”

“Having for the sake of political expediency committed to a course of action fundamentally at odds with its ideological bent, the Saskatchewan Party in government is now making decisions that put at risk the public’s money. The claptrap heard Monday from Crown Corporations Minister Ken Cheveldayoff… is a prime example of the government abandoning rational business practices at the alter of a political philosophy that eschews the concept of Crown-run utilities.”

“With its 40% market share in Saskatchewan’s property and casualty insurance sector, SGI should be following industry in not over-committing itself to a single market. As evidenced by damage claims associated with last summer’s storms, which saw the company’s profits drop to $35 million from $52 million in 2006, Cheveldayoff cannot hope to have it both ways in the long run – providing lowest possible cost insurance products from SGI and restricting the company’s expansion to stay within province.”

“There’s too much political gamesmanship and too little business sense demonstrated by Cheveldayoff when it comes to SGI.”

“What Mr. Cheveldayoff ordered this week seemed more like ordering Crown executives to employ meat tenderizer mallets on the companies until they are soft enough to be sold, instead of measures that ensure the long-term well-being of the utilities.”

Leader Post political columnist Murray Mandryk agrees with the NDP opposition that the Sask Party’s “Sask First” policy is, “an attack on Crown corporations that fits perfectly with the Saskatchewan Party’s long-term privatization view and may very well be the first step toward privatization.”

“… won’t that (Sask First Policy) turn every Crown into an STC… or a barely-profitable entity ripe for privatization?”

“If investing outside the province is not an option and investing inside the province will only be allowed if there are no other private investors interested in a particular project or business venture, what left for the Crowns? High risk, low return projects?”

“… there may be opportunities outside the province that fit well within the business activities, skill-set and expertise contained within the Crowns. If the time is right to hold on to investments or invest in other opportunities, either outside or inside the province, those decisions should be made without unnecessary political interference.”

"When he (Cheveldayoff) says he's 'more than happy to have SaskTel take a step backwards' if someone else wants to invest in the province, the minister is suggesting a course of action based on ideology, not on sound business acumen. Essentially, it's a prescription for the companies either to expand into risky, low-return ventures if they want to continue their growth -- with the potential to cause irreparable harm in the long run -- or for the managers of these utilities to underemploy the talents and expertise of their professionals as they stick to a holding pattern in a market that offers little opportunity for natural growth."