"Privatization is just a fancy name
for the biggest international romp ever mounted by the rich for skinning the
poor." - Senator Eugene Forsey
In Saskatchewan we have seen the
privatization of the Sask. Potash Corporation, the attempted privatization of Sask. Energy, the sale of
its natural gas fields, and
the introduction of "competition" into the natural gas industry. We continue to hear suggestions that we privatize SaskTel and Sask. Power. We
must not forget that these
Crown Corporations are owned by the people of Saskatchewan, and were set up to
provide essential services to the people of our province at reasonable cost.
Changes may be required but let us make certain that these changes benefit the many, rather than only enrich the
few.
(This article appeared in the August 1997 issue of Seniors' Voice ) Manitobans know the feeling. Within 48 hours of Manitoba Telephone
System shares going on the market, 5.7 million of them were flipped, earning
their owners an $18 million profit .
So much
for the idea that it is more democratic for individual Manitobans to own shares
in their telephone company rather that for all Manitobans to own it
collectively.
Six
months after the privatization, the majority ownership of the renamed Manitoba
Telcom Services Ltd. (MTS) has migrated outside Manitoba's boundaries and
switched from individual to institutional investors.
Now the
cost of local rates is going up.
MTS is asking for a $3 a month rate increase Jan. 1, 1998 in addition to
the $2 a month already in train.
And all to meet competition on local phone service. So much for the idea that competition
lowers prices.
University of Manitoba economist
George Churchman is warning that, government assurances notwithstanding, a bill
before the legislature is preparing Manitoba Hydro for the auction block without
even public hearings.
Mr
Churchman argues, the destination (privatization) remains. In a study commissioned by the Canadian Union of Public
Employees (CUPE), Mr Churchman says
the legislative changes go well beyond what is necessary to allow Manitoba Hydro
to continue to sell into the deregulated U.S. electrical
market.
"The
Manitoba government is rushing through dramatic changes to Manitoba Hydro," CUPE
Local 998 president Bob Maes said in releasing the report. "We are not opposed to change. But we feel that Manitobans deserve to
have input into changes. Instead,
Bill 55 is being rammed through the legislature."
Manitobans are being told that the
legislation is needed to facilitate further energy sales to the U.S., Mr. Maes
continued.
"The
fact is that many of the changes in this bill have nothing to do with U.S.
energy sales. If the government
were to limit the bill to those changes which would facilitate further sales, we
would not be here today."
The
Churchman study states that the legislation fundamentally changes Manitoba
Hydro's mandate. Hydro's sole
purpose, according to the statute creating it, has been to provide power to
Manitobans at the lowest cost. Bill
55 is about making the Crown utility over in the image of a private,
profit-making corporation. It
permits the utility to develop hydro sites dedicated to export markets, to enter
into joint ventures with other utilities, to become involved in foreign ventures
and to take risks in business ventures that are unrelated to its traditional
primary mandate. The Churchman
study continues.
"The
original mandate obliging Manitoba Hydro to confine its activities to meeting
the electric power needs of Manitoba is now diluted to the point that Manitoba
Hydro and the Manitoba government are now permitted a much freer hand to trade
off virtually any other objectives against the prime objective of providing
power to meet the needs of Manitobans."
Mr
Churchman warns that, over time, this will "weaken the perception of Manitobans
that Manitoba Hydro is owned collectively first and foremost to meet their
needs...Manitobans will perceive themselves less as stakeholders in Manitoba
Hydro and become more indifferent on the issue of
privatization."
Privatization, he says, "remains an
open question." And another romp of
the rich to skin the poor.
Material from Frances Russell, a
columnist for the Winnipeg Free Press
Editorial note: Since the privatization of the Manitoba Telephone System, local rates have risen sharply. Manitoba Hydro is still operated as a crown corporation.