1. Crown corporations serve the public interest in a commercial environment:
This orientation requires Crown corporations to balance costs and benefits of public policy objectives against
financial costs, given that the Crown corporation portfolio ranges from small appropriation-dependent corporations with
limited commercial revenue, to large commercial corporations operating on a self-sustaining basis. Although Crown
corporations respect the spirit of the government's broad socio-economic policies such as official languages,
employment equity and wage restraint, they must deliver goods and services in an economic and efficient manner.
2. Crown corporations have managerial autonomy:
Crown corporations have greater managerial autonomy than departments. Their day-to-day operations are at
arm's-length from both ministers and civil servants as provided for under the FAA by Parliament. As such, the role of
the appropriate minister for a Crown corporation is to determine its broad orientations and to approve its corporate
plan (recommending it to his/her colleagues), while respecting the corporation's operational autonomy from
government.
3. Crown corporations operate in as commercial a manner as possible:
Because many of them compete with private sector firms, Crown corporations are expected to function like their
private sector counterparts without undue interference from government administrative policies and without preferential
treatment vis-à-vis private firms. Their use of private sector business practices often requires that general
government policies and other measures be tailored specifically to their needs, often as guidelines rather than
rules.
4. Crown corporations should operate on a level playing field:
Because many Crown corporations compete with private firms, they should be subject to the same regulatory
requirements as the private sector, be they federal or provincial. To avoid overlap and duplication with processes in
other jurisdictions, the point of reference is the private sector rather than the public sector. The application of
broad government policies to Crown corporations should be clearly identified in the regime or legislation establishing
them. Safeguards are also necessary to guard against the release of commercially-sensitive information in the key
corporate plan approval process.
April 1995
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