Provincial Canadian full-service telco SaskTel, controlled by the Saskatchewan government, is now permitted to sell 49% of its shares under a new law which was passed last week. The legislation (via ‘Bill 40’) allows the provincial government to sell up to 49% of any ‘Crown corporation’ (including SaskTel) without triggering a public referendum. However, CTVNews quotes Dustin Duncan, the minister responsible for SaskTel, as saying: ‘SaskTel is not for sale, but Bill 40 would allow the potential for partnership.’ Duncan added that he had clarified this official position on the issue to unnamed ‘major national’ telecoms company representatives who visited his offices. Various other Canadian press reports name Bell Canada, Rogers Communications and Telus Communications as being interested in a potential stake purchase in SaskTel.

      Thanks to TeleGeography for this article