September 17, 2019 Crown and Central Agencies Committee 843
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STANDING COMMITTEE ON CROWN AND CENTRAL AGENCIES Hansard Verbatim Report No. 44 — September 17, 2019 Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan Twenty-Eighth Legislature STANDING COMMITTEE ON CROWN AND CENTRAL AGENCIES Mr. Fred Bradshaw, Chair Carrot River Valley Mr. Warren McCall, Deputy Chair Regina Elphinstone-Centre Mr. Steven Bonk Moosomin Mr. Glen Hart Last Mountain-Touchwood Ms. Nancy Heppner Martensville-Warman Ms. Lisa Lambert Saskatoon Churchill-Wildwood Mr. Hugh Nerlien Kelvington-Wadena Published under the authority of The Hon. Mark Docherty, Speaker STANDING COMMITTEE ON CROWN AND CENTRAL AGENCIES 841 September 17, 2019 [The committee met at 08:31.] for the year ended March 31st, 2019; Saskatchewan Telecommunications International Inc. financial statements for Ms. Ursulescu: — Good morning, committee members. I’m the year ended March 31st, 2019; Directwest Corporation Stacey Ursulescu and I’m the Committee Clerk. Yesterday Mr. financial statements for the year ended March 31st, 2019; Cox was taken off the committee and therefore you guys do not SecurTek Monitoring Solutions Inc. financial statements for the have a Chair of this committee. As your Committee Clerk it’s my year ended March 31st, 2019; Saskatchewan duty to preside over the election of a Chair. So how the process Telecommunications Pension Plan annual report for the year works is I’ll seek nominations first and then I will ask for a ended March 31st, 2019; Saskatchewan Opportunities motion to that effect. So I’ll open the floor now for nominations. Corporation 2018-19 annual report; SGI Canada 2018-19 annual I recognize Ms. Lambert. report; Saskatchewan Auto Fund 2018-19 annual report; Coachman Insurance Company 2018 annual report; Ms. Lambert: — I nominate Fred Bradshaw to serve as Chair. Saskatchewan Government Insurance Superannuation Plan 2018 annual report; SGI Canada Insurance Services Ltd. 2018 annual Ms. Ursulescu: — Okay, any further nominations? Seeing none, report; Saskatchewan Transportation Company 2018-19 annual I’ll ask Ms. Lambert to move her motion. report. Crown Investments Corporation of Saskatchewan 2018-19 annual report; Crown Investments Corporation of Ms. Lambert: — I move: Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan Immigrant Investor Fund Inc. financial statements for the year ended March 31st, 2019; Crown That Fred Bradshaw be elected to preside as Chair of the Investments Corporation of Saskatchewan, First Nations and Standing Committee on Crown and Central Agencies. Métis Fund Inc. financial statements for the year ended March 31st, 2019; Crown Investments Corporation of Saskatchewan, Ms. Ursulescu: — Is that agreed? CIC Asset Management Inc. financial statements for the year ended March 31st, 2019; Capital Pension Plan 2018-19 annual Some Hon. Members: — Agreed. report. Ms. Ursulescu: — Carried. I declare the motion carried and Mr. Committee members, you have before you a copy of today’s Bradshaw can come and take the seat. meeting notice, which is our agenda. Any comments on today’s agenda? Mr. McCall. The Chair: — Well good morning, everybody, and welcome to Crown and Central Agencies meeting. I’m going to announce the Mr. McCall: — Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. And let me members and substitutions. I’m Fred Bradshaw, the Chair. We first say a word of congratulations to yourself for election as have Warren McCall who is Deputy Chair. With us we also have Chair, as the servant in chief of this committee as we seek to do Steven Bonk, Lisa Lambert, Hugh Nerlien, and substituting for the people’s business for Crown and Central Agencies. I think Mr. Hart is David Buckingham, and substituting for Ms. Heppner this also would be a good time to say job well done to outgoing is Muhammed Fiaz. Chair Herb Cox, and the great volume of work that was undertaken by the committee under his leadership and the Committee members, we’re currently in the final stages of the leadership of my predecessor, the member from Saskatoon high-definition upgrade, and as a result today’s proceedings are Nutana, Cathy Sproule. So it’s certainly good to get the gratitude being live-streamed online on the Legislative Assembly website on the record for them at this point. and will be archived and broadcast on the Legislative Channel at a later date. But, Mr. Speaker . or Mr. Chair. You’ll forgive me. It’s back-to-school shuffling, I guess. I’m just getting it all sort of We have two documents to table: CCA 76-28, Crown worked out here. Investments Corporation of Saskatchewan: Report of public losses, April 1st, 2019 to June 30th, 2019; and also CCA 77-28, But in terms of the agenda, earlier this month I had opportunity Crown Investments Corporation of Saskatchewan: 2018-19 to provide correspondence to the Chair and then through the payee disclosure report. Chair of course to the committee, serving notice of a desire to move a motion pursuant to information that has been provided I would also like to advise the committee that pursuant to rule by the Information and Privacy Commissioner, a report that he 145(1), the following documents were permanently committed to has done on matters of operations with the Crown corporation the committee. Please bear with me as this is a long list. SaskTel. SaskEnergy 2018-19 annual report; SaskEnergy Incorporated, And certainly, Mr. Speaker, one of the things that is very TransGas Limited, and Bayhurst Gas Limited financial important for all of us to do in public life is to tell the truth and statements for the year ended March 31st, 2019; SaskWater to make sure that the people have all of the information in front 2018-19 annual report; Saskatchewan Power Corporation of them as they evaluate the work of any given government. And 2018-19 annual report; Power Corporation Superannuation Plan when it comes to the workings of SaskTel and an initiative of this 2018 annual report; NorthPoint Energy Solutions Inc. 2018-19 government to have attempted to sell off 50 per cent of any given financial statements; Saskatchewan Gaming Corporation Crown corporation, but SaskTel in particular, there have been 2018-19 annual report. SGC Holdings Inc. financial statements different stories in the public record as to what the state of affairs for the year ended March 31st, 2019; SaskTel 2018-19 annual was with this government and its relation to efforts to sell off 50 report; Saskatchewan Telecommunications financial statements per cent of SaskTel. 842 Crown and Central Agencies Committee September 17, 2019 This is something that the people of Saskatchewan hold very dear The Chair: — I declare the motion lost. to their hearts. SaskTel is a highly valued Crown corporation . [inaudible interjection] . I don’t know if that’s your Mr. McCall: — Mr. Chair, if we could make that a recorded predecessor phoning to add some commentary, Mr. Chair. But vote. anyway, this is something that’s very important to the people of Saskatchewan. The issue of the ownership of Crown corporations The Chair: — Mr. McCall has requested a recorded division. All is something that’s also a matter of considerable public interest. those in favour of the motion please raise your hand and keep So for a government that has promised to be the most open and your hands up while the Clerk records your names. accountable government in the history of the province, and for a government that did not have a mandate to proceed with sale of All of those opposed to the motion please raise your hand. Please 50 per cent of Crown corporations and particularly SaskTel, keep your hands up while the Clerk records your names. you’d think there would be an interest to get all of the information on the table and to have that full discussion about what went on The motion is lost. with trying to sell off 50 per cent of SaskTel. Standing Committee on Crown and Central Agencies And in that interest, Mr. Speaker, I’m prepared to move the following motion. And we don’t have to, you know . We can The Chair: — We will move on to our first item of the meeting assign a meeting for this at a later date to make this happen, but notice. Our first order of business today is a consideration of the there are things that we need to have that fuller discussion of. So Provincial Auditor chapter related to our committee which is the with that, Mr. Chair, I’m prepared to move the following motion, 2018 report volume 2, chapter 49. Ms. Ferguson, would you and of course welcoming comment or debate on it at that time. please introduce your officials and make your presentation. But I’ll proceed to moving the motion. It reads as follows: Ms. Ferguson: — Good morning. Thank you very much. We’re That given the new information revealed in the very pleased to be here this morning. I’ve got with me Ms. Kim Saskatchewan Information and Privacy Commissioner’s Lowe. Kim is the committee liaison from our office. And as Review Report 119-2018, the Standing Committee on indicated, the very first item on the agenda is an update on the Crown and Central Agencies invite the Minister for activities of the meeting of this committee that was included in SaskTel, the Minister for Crown Investments Corporation, our 2018 report volume 2. Kim. the current CEO of SaskTel, the former CEO of SaskTel, and the current CEO of Crown Investments Corporation to Ms. Lowe: — So I’ll be covering off chapter 49 of the 2018 testify on the activities of the cabinet committee on Crown report volume 2. The chapter before you this morning does not structure; and that the Standing Committee on Crown and contain any recommendations; rather it provides your committee Central Agencies invite any further witnesses as required by with an overview of the overall status of the committee’s the testimony of the ministers and officials.