And Devine sold this company for $330 million....

[mustardman]

When the group who couldn't ADD were in power in the 80's (Devine,Bill Boyd and company) they sold off the potash corp for a measly sum . And yes this is the same company that is worth Billions Today.

So here is the IRONIC part these cons didn't like the idea of We the people owning our own resource. They thought the private trade should own it and simply pay us a royalty. SO now there is a great possibility that China could end up owning the Potash Corp !!!

Wo what kind of f--ked up thought that was selling off Potash corp. and not having any control over who own it !!!!! The name Fiscal conservative is Definately a misnomer

[grrrr]

My understanding of the matter is that we, the people, own the resource. Whoever mines the resource pays royalties to the government. It doesn't matter much who the mining company is, they still pay royalties.

[ado089]

mustard,
You don't think the mismanagement by the communist dynasty prior to Devine selling PCS had anything to do with the sinking shipt that was the sask potash industry at that time. Who cares who digs it out of the ground? So long as they're paying royalties, taxes and hiring people. After all Bill Doyle was a real gem that cared deeply for sask farmers.

[dave4441]

Has a crown corporation ever become a global player in anything? To say that a crown, with limited capital could be the same as a public corporation is back trading and is ludicrous. Suppose mustardman thinks potatoe sheds should have been retained by the NDP as well.

[mustardman]

ado and dave ,no the ndp did not run the Potash corp into the ground it was sold because the Devine gov't (whom Baby faced Boyd was apart of and is now in charge of Nat. Res) did not Believe we should own it and they had bills to pay so they sold it.

I would rather WE own the resource entirely not just get a royalty. China is waiting in the shadows is it okay with you guys that they could end up owning it?? If they do count on them keeping potash Prices Down since they are using it themselves and oh by the way our royalty would be down as well.

[koba]

Considering that they sold it to the
people that paid for it already,namely
Sask. residents, the sum of 330 million
was a real coup. I mean, how many times
do I have to pay for something? At least
they sold us convertible bonds on a pay
over time scheme. Does any of this ring
a bell Mustard? I know you believe that
government ownership of the means of
production is the ideal but at least
pretend to know the facts.

[mustardman]

Koba do you think Saudi Arabia gets a royalty on its oil? No they Own it and All the profits go in the coffers minus the cost paid to contractor for pumping out of the ground.
Why don't you pretend to be Devine and sell me your land at 15 cents on the dollar and I will make sure to give you a little royalty now and again to keep you happy.

[cottonpicken]

Man o man,does anybody actually know how things work around here.does anybody actually understand what you can own for pennies on the dollar around the world including china and yes its rrsp elegible.the level of ignorance about global commerce stuns me.

[dave4441]

THe issue is that we are talking about a sale of a asset, 20 years ago. It was a much different time. You can not say, see 20 years later that asset should not have been sold. What would that asset be worth today if it was still a crown corporation? Not what it is as a public corporation. The reason it is worth what it is worth (and been as successfull) is becuase it is not a crown.

Mexico owns Pemex. Pemex produces the oil, refines the oil and sells the fuel. Currently there are US rigs that are parked (and drillers sitting in hotels) because Pemex does not have the money to continue to drill. Govt onwership bad, private ownership good. Maybe Mexico would make more money with royalities and could use those royalties to invest in their country and a more efficient company would run the production and everyone would be better off.

[dave4441]

I am guessing Mustardman supports bringing back the land bank as well so the people of this province can own the production of food. Same thing exactly. Heck, everyone in this province eats, so we should have the rights to the food production. Let's own food production and the whole chain and then everyone's bread will be at cost. Will we are at it, we farmers should all be paid the same wage and be issued govt machinery and everyone must have the same standard of living. It is called Cuba and the only way it works is if Venezuala subsidizes it. Either you are for open markets and ownership or you are against it. There is no middle ground.

[dave4441]

On another note, i do not really care who owns the company, if i did I would own as much of it as i could afford. We want our local companies to go out into the world and invest in other nations and bring profits back to Canada, but we do not want any foreign ownership here at home. That is a tough nut to crack as an exporting nation who has very very few people, but lots of skill, technology and resources. Alot of the opportunity is based in other regions of the world because that is were the people are.
Are people against Viterra owning a chunk of the grain business in Austrailia? Or Allaince owning facilities in Turkey, US and Austraila? I do not know examples off the top of my head, but we have resource companies in Canada that have operations in other parts of the world. Do we want those countries to shut down our companies operations?

[koba]

Done and done Musterdperson. Make out
that royalty check of a billion a year
to me and get it certified. By the way I
still have the Potash shares that Devine
sold me,on time, and I believe my money
went into educating your kids. Actually,
a number of First Nations bands still
have shares in lieu of lost Treaty
lands. Do not give me this Saudi crap as
I very much doubt that you know much
about International business law.

[oneoff]

For those of you who know so much about markets, finances and internatinal law; tell me why we do such a good job of electing and acclaiming officials that have such poor credentials and lack of common sense to run our public business.

[FarmRanger]

If we elect officials that think there ever should be such a thing as a “public business” then we’ll get exactly the standard of living we deserve. Most of the countries that are heavy into “public business” are also the ones with the worst standards of living for the majority of the citizens who live there.

Take this back to the farm as an example. If you were a government employee instead of a farm owner/operator, would the land you own produce anywhere near as much with the limited resources you currently have for the same cost as it does now.
Didn’t think so. And if you upscale this simple rule to multimillion or billion dollar companies, it works the same way. Nobody has or ever will work for the government like they will for themselves or their family.

The crown corporation was sold, not the potash it mined. A large part of the reason it’s worth more today is that it is no longer a crown corporation. Think about it.

[Gerald_sk]

Got to reply to this one above the Devine years. He was the
worst leader in the history of the province. Yes he make a lot
of very rich people including farmers that knew how to play
the grip program. In his 8 or so years he basically bankrupted
the province. You can keep the talk about the bad CFF or NDP
but it has always been the conservative side that waste all
the money. From Potash to Highways equipment they sold out the
province for pennies on the dollar.
Every time I hear some of the doing on the conservative side
I always think of a saying attached to Devine. It was something
like " if we get someone a millons dollars he will get someone
to sweep the floor". As said he gave a lot of people millions but
most when to Alberta and BC.