Mexico is an interesting example. Would we expect a nation that has a culture of horrendous corruption at all government levels and inefficient service to be able to operate a national energy company? No. Drawing comparisons between Mexico and Canada is apples to oranges. Norway has a successful blend of public/private energy operations. Perhaps we could take some of their model instead of Mexico?
There is this idea that government is wasteful and private industry is not. What BS. My last stint in private industry was in the executive suite of a corporation with several thousand employees and over $1Billion in revenues. These are the supposed "efficient models" that we're hoping our governments look like? I surely hope not. We had healthy operating profits and yet the CEO and CFO had a massive push to lay off front line and technical staff. So we did. We fought five unions and laid off 800 employees. Then we all got 40% raises overnight, and in the 11 years since I left, those management positions now earn 10-12X what they did in 2000. Fiscal restraint and responsibility? What a joke. We wasted so much money it was difficult to believe. Prior to that I worked for a Fortune 500 US-based firm, and it was much the same.
I won't say that the provincial education system doesn't waste money. Also, now as a front-line staff member (where I'll stay, thanks) I'm no longer privy to the inner workings, but I'm a pretty savvy person when it comes to sniffing out crap, and I see virtually no waste at the school and very little at the board level. It happens above there, I'm sure, but when I see how much money is in the total budget vs. what is being spent at the board level, it's not bad. Could it be better? Sure. Nothing's perfect.
Where we waste taxpayer dollars is in corruption and theft. Anyone that knows anything about Alberta Treasury Branches knows that the people literally stole hundreds of millions of dollars of provincial funds. But, where did these guys come from? The moon? We think they were honest business people that suddenly turned corrupt when they were elected? No. They were thieves, plain and simple.
You don't think thievery in private business affects us? You bet it does. We all pay for it, not unlike when people in government steal.