The government is not seeking buyers for SaskTel: minister

Any sale of SaskTel would require a referendum, but Saskatchewan’s chief electoral officer believes the legislation needs to be updated to make that happen.

As per the Crown Protection Act, any sale of a Crown would require some kind of vote, but it doesn’t stipulate what form that would take.

“I haven’t thought about in terms of what a referendum actually looks like, is it a mail-in ballot, is it online, would people go to polling stations,” Dustin Duncan, minister of SaskTel explained.

But he also added there is no need to address this issue unless an actual offer comes in.

Duncan confirmed no offer has been made for SaskTel nor is the government actively seeking buyers.

The premier mused this summer that he would entertain the idea of selling SaskTel but only if the right offer was made.

“If an offer does come and we will say this is an offer, but what would actually trigger government going to a referendum, it is not just going to be any offer that we are going to hold a referendum on,” Duncan insisted.

“We’re not just going to the public in terms of a referendum on any offer and it won’t be on the first offer we receive.”

The NDP maintains it will fight “tooth and nail” against any sale of a Crown.