Income trust fall-out: American couple the first to launch NAFTA challenge against Government of Canada for eliminating income trusts; inviting others

OTTAWA, Oct. 30 /CNW Telbec/ - Marvin and Elaine Gottlieb are taking on Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty and the Canadian government for the Halloween 2006 broken promise on the elimination of income trusts. The Chicago couple are the first Americans to file a Notice of Intent to Submit a Claim to Arbitration under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The couple are among the thousands of US investors who lost a total of $5 billion dollars in the fall-out from the Conservative Government's decision last year to effectively tax income trusts in the energy sector out
of existence.

"The Halloween 2006 income trust decision by the Government of Canada has had a massive financial impact on thousands of investors in Canada and the U.S. and we believe that it breached Canada's NAFTA obligations", said Marvin Gottlieb. "Because of this decision, more than $30 billion has been lost by individual investors in Canada and more than $5 billion has been lost by energy trust investors, including Elaine and me, in the United States.

"Based on Stephen Harper's very public promise, thousands of individuals and grandparents like us invested our hard earned money in income trusts and energy trusts. This is not just a nightmare on Bay Street. It's a nightmare on Wall Street."

For further information:
Susan Smith
Bluesky Strategy Group
C: (613)371-0624
susan@blueskystrategygroup.com
Source: CNW

Related:
Chicago couple seeks NAFTA arbitration of income trust taxation policy