CANADA MULLING SELLING PETRO-CANADA - MULRONEY

  Prime Minister Brian Mulroney said the
  government was considering selling Petro-Canada and the sale
  would proceed if it were in the national interest to do so.
      Mulroney told the House of Commons assets of the huge oil
  company would be examined before a decision was made, just as
  other state-run companies were studied before being sold under
  Ottawa's privatization program.
      "The government is going to examine assets of this nature
  to ascertain if they continue to play an appropriate role in
  public policy and we will make a determination as we have in
  other cases," Mulroney told the daily question period.         
      Asked by opposition members to clairify Finance Minister
  Michael Wilson's statement on Friday that Petro-Canada no
  longer has any pubilic policy role, Mulroney said his
  government has long promised to sell off companies that could
  be better run by the private sector.
      Outside the House, Energy Minister Marcel Masse said
  Petro-Canada would be worth between three and four billion dlrs
  and, because of the size, could be difficult to sell.
      He also said he would prefer to see Canadians participating
  in any privatization, but would not give any details on timing
  of a sale.          
  

