We, the undersigned residents of the province of Saskatchewan, wish to bring to your attention the following:
- That the Sask. Party’s Bill 40 created a new definition for "privatization" that allows the government to sell 49% of the shares of our Crown Corporations like SaskTel without holding a referendum.
- That in 2015-16 alone Saskatchewan’s Crown Corporations returned $297.2 million in dividends to pay for schools, roads, and hospitals. Those dividends should go to the people of Saskatchewan, not private investors;
- That our Crown Corporations employ thousands of Saskatchewan people across the province;
- That under the Section 149 of the Income Tax Act of Canada, Crown corporations are exempt from corporate income tax provided not less than 90% of the shares are held by a government or province. The Sask. Party’s change would allow up to 49 percent of a Crown to be sold without being considered privatized;
- And that this short-sighted legislation risks sending millions of Crown dividends to Ottawa rather than the people of Saskatchewan.