Article Abstract:
The Economic Council of Canada examined public enterprise and found that some Crown businesses do not serve their original purposes or are not appropriate policy instruments. The Council recommends that independent commissions monitor, regulate, and advise governments on capital expenditures of publicly held electric utilities. Technological changes and increased US competition place in question continued public telecommunications monopolies. Transit authorities are urged to consider private contracting for mass transit services. The Council recommends that Air Canada and Petro-Canada be privatized and that share offerings be available only to Canadians initially. Overall, the Council believes that government enterprise be seen as an instrument of last resort.
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Article Abstract:
While private companies are created to generate profits, Crown corporations should be used for the efficient achievement of public policy goals, according to Elaine Kirsch in a paper for the Economic Council. Generally, the goals relate to employment or regional development. Because Crown corporations can generate costs to the taxpayer, their effectiveness must be measured in terms of features such as legal privileges, monitoring techniques, and policy objectives, which are not characteristic of private enterprises. It is concluded that the costs are not necessary for reaching the goals, and that cost reduction is not an incentive in public enterprises.
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Article Abstract:
A formal request to the Economic Council of Canada has asked for annual disclosures of corporate expenditures on research and development (R & D). Currently, these expenses must be reported confidentially to Statistics Canada, and although some corporations choose to publicize these figures, they generally do so on a consolidated (rather than a business segment) basis. Public reports of R&D expenses by business segment for every Canadian corporation would facilitate research in areas such as productivity and general business.
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