WIENS ANNOUNCES DETAILS OF CROWN CORPORATION REVIEW

Released on February 28, 1996

Crown Investments Corporation Minister Berny Wiens today outlined the
terms of reference and process for what he termed the most wide-ranging
review of Crown Corporations in the history of the province.

The review will involve three separate processes which will be brought
together in a report to be released to the general public this fall.

"We have planned a review which is as complete as we can make it,"
Wiens said. "We will be examining the fiscal stability of the Crowns,
their future prospects, the economic impact of public enterprise in the
province, and the public's feelings about Crown Corporations."

The first part of the review will consist of a situation analysis of
the individual Crown Corporations. This will include a look at what
the future might hold for these enterprises, plus a discussion of how
to deal with that future. This will be done by outside financial
experts from across Canada, who are recognized as having expertise in
the field specific to each Crown.

This detailed analysis will be coupled with an expert review of the
impact of Crown Corporations on the provincial economy. This review
will take the form of an econometric model which, among other things,
will show the impact of Crown Corporations on Saskatchewan's tax
revenues, jobs and provincial debt.

The third stage of the review will be a series of public meetings
across the province, culminating in a one-day conference, where the
results of these public meetings will be reported. The Provincial
Advisory Council on the Economy (PACE) will be asked to organize this
phase, in conjunction with Regional Economic Development Authorities
(REDAs) and Saskatchewan's universities.

The corporations to be reviewed are SaskPower, SaskTel, SaskEnergy, SGI
and the Saskatchewan Transportation Company. Also to be reviewed is
the Crown Investments Corporation (CIC) investment portfolio.

"It is important that we take a close look at the bottom line for our
Crown Corporations, both now and in the future," Wiens said. "However,
we can't do a complete review by looking only at the dollars and cents.
We also need to know what the people of Saskatchewan expect from the
Crowns, and whether or not their expectations are being met.

"That is why we believe all three elements of the review are of equal
importance," he said.

Over the course of the summer, the results of all three elements will
be rolled together into one report which will then be given to the
government and released to the general public.

"Our Crown Corporations have served us well in the past. But with the
advent of competition, globalization and changes to interprovincial and
international trade regulations, the environment in which they operate
is taking on a different shape," Wiens said.

"The intention is to have this review develop a road map the government
can use to set the Crowns' course into the new century."

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For more information, contact:

John Millar
Crown Investments Corporation
Regina Phone: (306) 787-9039