Public Enterprise in an Era of Change

Paul G. Thomas is a professor of political science at the University of
Manitoba and the co-author of Canadian Public Administration:
Problematical Perspectives.

This publication arises from a conference held in 1996. The conference
was part of the NDP government–sponsored review of the Saskatchewan
Crown corporation sector, with a particular focus on five major crowns.
There are 16 contributors to the volume, including leading Canadian and
foreign authorities on the changing roles of government-owned
enterprises. The papers range from theoretically oriented studies by
academics to practical pragmatic commentaries by public servants and
former politicians.

Canadians have never been particularly ideological in their support for
Crown corporations; instead, they have accepted them on a pragmatic
case-by-case basis. In a small, resource-based economy like
Saskatchewan, Crown corporations have been important instruments of
economic and social development, as several contributions from
provincial officials make clear. Economic forces of globalization,
financial stress caused by deficits/debts, and issues of accountability
related to Crown corporations have caused Canadian governments to sell
some of them off. However, there has not usually been an ideological
crusade in favor of such privatization, with the possible exception of
the previous Progressive Conservative government in Saskatchewan. Also,
several of the papers make the point that the privatization agenda has
been driven by economic and political elites, whereas the public at
large tends to agree or disagree with specific transactions without
embracing an overall philosophy. It is not surprising, therefore, that
the consultation exercise in Saskatchewan led to no major changes in
ownership of crowns. Instead the reforms introduced by the NDP
government involved mainly governance arrangements intended to ensure
that Crown corporations were subject to appropriate levels of political
direction and accountability.