Harper claims state owned corporations are a different kind of player

Canada has state owned corporations, in fact we have 49 state owned corporations, the difference is we call them "Crown Corporations". It is the philosophy of government and the Canadian taxpayer that make the difference in how they operate.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/19/canada-harper-foreign-investment-idUST5E8LT01F20121119?type=companyNews&feedType=RSS&feedName=companyNews&rpc=43

Let's not forget Petro-Canada and how the voter including myself whined about spending our tax dollars on an oil company or CNR and Air Canada all of which have been privatized and, with the exception of Petro Canada, are still a concern. The Harper governments closing of the Wheat Board and their give away of part of AECL to SNC Lavelin are another bone of contention for some.

For decades voters have been whining about CBC, another Crown Corporation that is now under attack from the likes of Stephen Harper, who cut their budget, and BCE and others who a whining to the CRTC (a Crown Corporation) about CBC competing with them for advertising dollars. If the Harper Government and the taxpayer were willing the CBC could have bought CTV instead of BCE.

Consider the day when BCE has a monopoly on the communications industry and the taxpayer is demanding the government do something about it .... it is coming quicker than you may think.

Canadian Broadcast Corporation

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) is among the biggest Crown Corporations involved in communications and culture. The CBC is Canada's public-owned radio and television broadcaster. In French, it is called la Société Radio-Canada (Radio-Canada or SRC). The umbrella corporate brand is CBC/Radio-Canada.

The CBC is the oldest broadcasting service in Canada, established as a Crown Corporation on November 2, 1936. Radio services include CBC Radio One, CBC Radio Two, La Première Chaîne, Éspace musique, and the international radio service Radio Canada International (RCI). Television operations include CBC Television, Télévision de Radio-Canada, CBC Newsworld, le Réseau de l'information (RDI), and CBC Country Canada. The CBC also operates a digital audio service called Galaxie and two websites, one in each official language.
 
The CBC is mandated to provide “distinctively Canadian” programming that reflects Canada’s national and regional audiences and provides English and French programming of equivalent quality. The Corporation must also “contribute to shared national consciousness and identity” and “reflect the multicultural and multiracial nature of Canada.”

In 2005-06, the CBC received approximately $1.1 billion to operate its television and radio stations but also received $522 million in revenue from advertising and other sources. The CBC is governed by the Broadcasting Act, 1991, and is directly responsible to Parliament through the Department of Canadian Heritage.

http://www.mapleleafweb.com/features/crown-corporations-canada

Hypothetically speaking if Petro Canada was still a Crown Corporation and was making a foreign purchase that we the taxpayer had to finance, all hell would break out ... the people of Mainland China have no say.

Or what if Via Rail were to purchase a passenger service in the US and we the taxpayer had to finance the purchase afterall, they too are a Crown Corporation but then it is not Stephen Harpers or the Canadian taxpayers method of doing business.

So who is right and who is wrong,in my opinion we are, we have the resources to spend the money to buy foreign assets but we don't want our tax dollars doing it.