PRESS RELEASE
Monday, September 13, 2010
The Green Party of Saskatchewan held a press conference in Regina this morning at the Saskatchewan Legislative Building to put forward a plan to advert the hostile takeover of PotashCorp by BHP Billiton and to prevent foreign concentrated ownership of Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan altogether. The Green Party of Saskatchewan’s plan calls for Ottawa to use their power to stop the hostile takeover of PotashCorp by BHP. “Foreign concentrated ownership does not equate to a ‘net benefit’ to Canada or Saskatchewan,” states Larissa Shasko, Leader of the Green Party of Saskatchewan. “Under foreign concentrated ownership, profits would not be staying in Saskatchewan where they benefit our local economy, and foreign concentrated ownership leaves our local economy extremely vulnerable,” Shasko continues. The Green Party is concerned that the takeover of PotashCorp by BHP Billiton would result in profit-oriented actions such as wage freezes and requests to government to lower royalty rates. “Ottawa has an obligation to stop this takeover, and they have the power to do so,” states Shasko.
The Green Party of Saskatchewan plan calls for royalty rates to be raised substantially to ensure a fair portion of the wealth from potash production in our province goes to benefit all of our people and is also preserved for future generations. “As the people of Saskatchewan, our ownership of this resource is largely based on royalty rates, which are currently too low for Saskatchewan people to be realizing a fair portion of the sales of potash production occurring in our province,” states Shasko. According to Shasko, increases in royalty rates on potash are long overdue: “Had the Government of Saskatchewan raised royalty rates when potash prices spiked, PotashCorp may not be in the hostile takeover situation it is now in.”
The Green Party of Saskatchewan plan also suggests a new business model that invests in workers and communities. “A Worker Co-operative would have the potential to create local ownership of PotashCorp while bringing democracy into the workplace through the ‘one worker, one vote’ system, states Shasko. “Worker Co-operatives can empower workers and create healthier communities, and better decisions are made in areas such as the environment because the owners and decision makers are the very workers who are seeing the environmental destruction first hand,” Shasko continues.
The plan put forward by the Green party of Saskatchewan at this morning’s press conference also offers solutions for better decision-making practices in areas such as the environment and public health/safety. According to Green Leader Larissa Shasko, "Saskatchewan’s resources should not be depleted by aggressive foreign ownership, inadequate royalties, and lack of government protection."
Monday, September 13, 2010
The Green Party of Saskatchewan held a press conference in Regina this morning at the Saskatchewan Legislative Building to put forward a plan to advert the hostile takeover of PotashCorp by BHP Billiton and to prevent foreign concentrated ownership of Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan altogether. The Green Party of Saskatchewan’s plan calls for Ottawa to use their power to stop the hostile takeover of PotashCorp by BHP. “Foreign concentrated ownership does not equate to a ‘net benefit’ to Canada or Saskatchewan,” states Larissa Shasko, Leader of the Green Party of Saskatchewan. “Under foreign concentrated ownership, profits would not be staying in Saskatchewan where they benefit our local economy, and foreign concentrated ownership leaves our local economy extremely vulnerable,” Shasko continues. The Green Party is concerned that the takeover of PotashCorp by BHP Billiton would result in profit-oriented actions such as wage freezes and requests to government to lower royalty rates. “Ottawa has an obligation to stop this takeover, and they have the power to do so,” states Shasko.
The Green Party of Saskatchewan plan calls for royalty rates to be raised substantially to ensure a fair portion of the wealth from potash production in our province goes to benefit all of our people and is also preserved for future generations. “As the people of Saskatchewan, our ownership of this resource is largely based on royalty rates, which are currently too low for Saskatchewan people to be realizing a fair portion of the sales of potash production occurring in our province,” states Shasko. According to Shasko, increases in royalty rates on potash are long overdue: “Had the Government of Saskatchewan raised royalty rates when potash prices spiked, PotashCorp may not be in the hostile takeover situation it is now in.”
The Green Party of Saskatchewan plan also suggests a new business model that invests in workers and communities. “A Worker Co-operative would have the potential to create local ownership of PotashCorp while bringing democracy into the workplace through the ‘one worker, one vote’ system, states Shasko. “Worker Co-operatives can empower workers and create healthier communities, and better decisions are made in areas such as the environment because the owners and decision makers are the very workers who are seeing the environmental destruction first hand,” Shasko continues.
The plan put forward by the Green party of Saskatchewan at this morning’s press conference also offers solutions for better decision-making practices in areas such as the environment and public health/safety. According to Green Leader Larissa Shasko, "Saskatchewan’s resources should not be depleted by aggressive foreign ownership, inadequate royalties, and lack of government protection."
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