2004 Crown Investments Corporation of Saskatchewan Annual Report

Chair’s MessageSaskatchewan’s Crown corporations have been providing high quality, reliable, affordable services toSaskatchewan citizens for more than 100 years. They play a vital role in our province’s economy by providingthousands of jobs across Saskatchewan, buying most of their goods and services from local suppliers, andpartnering with hundreds of businesses to provide insurance, natural gas and phone service to the peopleof our province. As we celebrate Saskatchewan’s Centennial in 2005, it is important to reflect on thesecontributions so we can prepare our Crowns for a new century of excellence and service to Saskatchewanpeople.In 2004, the provincial government passed legislation to ensure that public ownership of our Crowncorporations will be maintained into our next century. The Crown Corporations Public Ownership Act wasintroduced and passed in the fall 2004 legislative session. This legislation requires that before the sale ofspecified Crown assets a full and public debate, and ultimately a provincial election, must take place so thepeople of Saskatchewan have the final say. We believe this legislation will accomplish what Saskatchewanpeople have asked for – the preservation of our cherished Crown corporations for generations to come.In 2004, we kept our commitment to provide Saskatchewan families with the lowest-cost bundle of basicutility rates in Canada. Cost comparisons during 2004 showed that Saskatchewan would have the secondlowest annual cost for a basket of rates that includes residential electricity and natural gas, basic phoneservice, and auto insurance. By providing a rebate of $137 to 380,000 households, Saskatchewan’s bundlecost was the lowest in the country for 2004.We took several steps in 2004 to improve accountability in our Crown corporations, including: quarterlyfinancial reporting; independent third party reviews of proposed investments; mailing a summary annualreport to all homes in the province; and expanding disclosure of payee information to the Crown andCentral Agencies Committee of the Legislature. Our goal is to exceed private sector standards for disclosure.Financially, our Crown corporations earned $312.1 million from revenues of $4.1 billion in 2004. Due tothe good financial performance of the Crowns, CIC was able to provide a dividend of $268 million to theGeneral Revenue Fund, money that will be used to provide support for health, education,infrastructure and agriculture in Saskatchewan.Over the last 100 years Saskatchewan Crown corporations have provided solidfinancial returns, a commitment to communities, and high quality, reliableservice with affordable rates to Saskatchewan people. We look forward tobuilding on the legacy of our Crown corporation sector as we celebrateSaskatchewan’s 100 th birthday and embark on a new century in ourprovince’s history.I am pleased to present CIC’s 2004 Annual Report.Pat AtkinsonMinister of Crown Management BoardChair of the Board of Directors2