Mayor Sam Katz's state of the city address touched on an issue that most political leaders in Winnipeg have stayed away from for fear of backlash from special interest groups. Katz brought up the "p" word - privatization. And he didn't do it in an apologetic way, he enthusiastically addressed the issue in front of the city's business community, who for too long have been starved for a political leader with some guts to make the city more business friendly.

If Katz has his way, the city's Alternative Service Delivery model will be expanded to selling municipal golf courses, gravel pits and fully privatizing garbage collection. This is good news to a city facing a high tax climate and a serious cash crunch. This year's budget deficit is pegged at $57 million and although selling off municipal holdings will not cover the whole tab, it is a step in the right direction.

Privatizing garbage services alone could potentially save the city $3 million annually according to a report issued last year. In the municipality of North Saanich, B.C. residents cannot even remember a time when the government took care of garbage services - there residents and businesses individually negotiate contracts with a number of different service providers competing for business. According to one of these companies, Ron's Disposal, a family of four with once a week pickup and one can of garbage pays $214 a year.

There are privatization success stories all across the country even in our own back yard - Manitoba Telecom Services was privatized in 1995 and has since become the third largest telecommunications provider in the country. In Alberta, the number of liquor stores tripled in the first 18 months after privatization in 1993, creating thousands of new jobs. When the Saskatchewan government privatized Cameco in 1991, the company increased production, decreased costs, and began to grow through acquisitions and the discovery of new reserves - fast forward to 1998 and Cameco was producing a third of the world's uranium.

Even the federal government have successful privatization stories. In 1991 they began to sell off their shares in Petro Canada, in 1997 the Government of Canada privatized printing services and sold their interests in CN rail.

There is of course the government-should-do-it-all crowd that have already raised some concerns. Councilor Jenny Gerbasi is not pleased that the Mayor has floated the idea of selling off the city's twelve publicly owned golf courses. Perhaps she should be more concerned with the many services the current property tax base is servicing, which it was never meant to.

Cities should spend 100% of their budgets on core services which are not delivered by the provincial or federal governments: policing, firefighting, roads, snow removal, sewage system, and the like. There is no reason why government should be in the business of funding arts and taking tee times. Doing so takes choice away from citizens as to which forms of art and recreation they wish to pay for themselves with their own hard-earned money. It takes choice away from citizens and hands it over to politicians and bureaucrats.

Mayor Katz is correct to address privatization as a suitable alternative to ease the property and business tax burden in Winnipeg. Katz's big test will come if he can convince his council colleagues to adopt this welcome new approach to running government.

-- Adrienne Batra
Provincial Director, Manitoba
Canadian Taxpayers Federation