REGINA, Sask. — The possibility of SGI moving into SaskTel's downtown Regina headquarters has sparked debate at the Saskatchewan legislature, with the Opposition raising concerns about potential job losses and privatization and the government offering assurances that neither will happen.
SaskTel and SGI announced Monday that they are exploring a plan to move SGI employees out of their current office tower and into the SaskTel building at 2121 Saskatchewan Drive. The two Crown corporations cited aging infrastructure as the reason for considering the move.
Opposition New Democrats raised concerns about the proposal during question period Monday, with Leader Carla Beck questioning whether it could lead to layoffs or privatization.
“Well, we see again, Mr. Speaker, why nobody takes the Leader of the Opposition seriously,” said Crown Investments Corporation Minister Jeremy Harrison in the legislative assembly.
“No Crowns have been privatized and none will be privatized, Mr. Speaker. In fact we have both buildings that are coming to the end of their lifespan, Mr. Speaker. They were designed for 50-year life expectancies. The SGI building, as was laid out very clearly this morning by the CEO of the company, Mr. Speaker, has challenges. And we are looking to make sure that our Crowns are healthy, strong going forward, Mr. Speaker, that our workforce is downtown at work. And we’re looking at this option as being the best one to move forward with.”
Speaking to reporters afterward, Harrison elaborated on the challenges facing SGI's building.
“I think for folks in Regina, probably not a lot of them are a big surprise. It's a near 50-year-old building which was designed for a 50-year life expectancy. There have been challenges almost from day one with the curtain wall. There had been an experimental design, essentially, that had been a part of the original building.”
Harrison also pointed to flooding earlier this year that caused significant damage to the SGI building and left many employees working from home.
He said the government would be “working through that process, looking at what that option would look like with everybody being in the SaskTel building.”
Harrison noted that while the SaskTel building on Saskatchewan Drive may appear smaller, it is “actually over twice as big as the SGI building.”
“It has well over twice as much floor space. There really is a path for everybody to be in the same space working together.”
As for the future of the SGI building, Harrison said third parties would be asked to assess possible alternative uses.
“I'm not going to prejudge what any of those recommendations could look like, but we're going to be asking for advice on what that future could look like for that SGI building going forward.”
Speaking to reporters, NDP critic Aleana Young said the Opposition was “hearing huge concerns already in Regina” about the proposed move.
Young raised concerns about potential job losses, privatization and the impact on downtown businesses.
She said that for businesses in Regina, especially downtown, “this is going to be a gut punch, and employees at SaskTel and SGI are worried about what this means for their jobs what this means for their futures and what this means for the customers of Saskatchewan who rely on our Crowns.”
The SGI-SaskTel issue continued to generate debate at the legislature Tuesday.
Beck brought forward an emergency motion calling for guarantees that no jobs would be lost and no whole or partial privatization of Crown corporations would occur as a result of the proposed shared headquarters.
However, the motion required unanimous consent to proceed. Saskatchewan Party MLAs withheld consent, preventing the motion from reaching the floor for debate.
Earlier during question period, Premier Scott Moe assured the assembly there would be no job losses involving the two Crown corporations. He also pointed to existing provincial legislation intended to prevent a privatization.
