Premier Wall I think also owes thanks to those Three Wise Men from Alberta, Manitoba and Quebec for the favourable decision rendered yesterday by the Federal government. Their gift of support no doubt helped Minister Clement in his decision making.
As the saga dragged on much was made of Canadian owned and operated resource corporations. As PCS is not currently Canadian owned or operated it is the citizens' chance to make that desire come true. As the shares in PCS plummet today it is the ideal time for Canadian citizens, pension plans and indigenous groups to invest in this corporation and tip the balance of ownership to Canadian. Put your money where your mouth is.
The PotashCorp site posts the Pledge to Saskatchewan which includes the return of head office to Saskatchewan. Nothing short of having the CEO reside in Saskatchewan and pay provincial and federal tax on earnings will constitute the return of head office. If the CEO is here then the rest of the entourage will be as well.
In today's SP (Nov. 4/10) Chief Lonechild states that First Nations leaders are tired of PotashCorp's empty promises. Lonechild said: "PCS says one thing and does another. So far we've gotten no accountability from Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan."
Brad Wall has expressed concern during the attempted takeover that corporations make promises and then don't keep them.
Its time to hold some boardroom feet to the fire. It is in fact the Board that hires the CEO and gives the marching orders. I hope the moving trucks are being loaded as I write this post.
It is also up to Premier Wall to ensure that the promises are kept. If I understand correctly there is legislation that provides for the head office issue and he has the clout of licensing to use to enforce that legislation. Now we wait and see how many promises get kept.
In the spirit of the Magi, I await the second coming . . .
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So far, PCS shares have only dropped just over 3% . Is this a plummet? Especially since they are still trading at over what BHP's offer was. Let's not get hysterical Mistress...
ReplyDeleteDear Sam. You confuse my optimism for hysteria. The best thing to come out of this takeover adventure is the return of those high paying taxable jobs to Sskatchewan. PCS used to consistently hire our UofS Commerce grads when head office functions were in Saskatoon and perhaps they will do so again. PCS generously donated in the province and generally supported the Saskatoon community when the executives lived here. All bonus issues.
ReplyDeleteCorporations continually woo pension groups. They are the best of investors because they generally invest for the long term. As some Canadian pension plan groups expressed interest during the takeover saga, now is the time.
Anyway you cut it, promises have been made by politicians of all stripes and Potash Corp. I simply think they should be made to keep their promises.
I know this is an unpopular sentement but it is just wrong for a Government at any level to step in on the dealings of a publicly trade company it should be up to the share holders alone!
ReplyDeleteI don't disagree with government intervention on private companies, however, when the deal such as this involves one with as significant a strategic resource as potash, and allows a company the possibility of controlling one of our nation's most valuable global resources then the government has all right to become involved.
ReplyDeleteThis goes both ways, including I don't mind other countries blocking Canadian companies from acquiring integral strategic resources.
Good Job Harper (three words I never thought I would put together)
As for,
Mistress, it doesn't matter where the shares are held as long as the company headquarters and its executives are in Saskatchewan. Individuals from our country can invest all over the world, just as others can invest here. We want investment! The key is that each country gets the benefit of their natural resources. And that is more than paying taxes. It happens when the respective companies have offices in their home country, when their executives live in the country(and pay personal taxes there), when the company hires local suppliers and when they make local donations. Under Pot CEO Doyle all of these things were being moved to Chicago little by little while the board and two different provincial governments looked the other way. It was the proposed take-over that "woke up" the public to their problem. And as you so rightly point out it is now time to make all concerned accountable.
ReplyDeleteOne of the big problems with the BHP deal was their view of Canpotex, the worlds largest distributor of Potash, mostly Saskatchewan potash. We worry about PCS's head offices in Chicago. Take a look at where Canpotex has their "head" office and main guy... Singapore! The government alresdy has all the power it needs to control the potash industry in Saskatchewan its called legisation,taxation and regulation. What does everybody think BHP was going to do, secretly take all the potash out of the ground one night and send it to Australia. Folks this was a purely political decision where a free enterprise government succumbed to wanting to be re-elected rather than follow their ideals. They are all the same, once elected they forget the people that elected them and do what is needed to be re-elected period. Any misconception you have about honest politicians at any level of government are exactly that misconceptions
ReplyDelete