Psst... Harper Wins CAJ secrecy award - An example we want to add to the list.

18 blacked out pages prove nothing about alleged income trust tax leakage but say much about how Stephen Harper regards Canadians.

Harper philosophy is to Lie Conceal Fabricate his way to power.

CAITI has been saying it since January 2007.

Still we are happy Canada's Journalists are willing to acknowledge the obvious.

Related:
It shouldn’t be the role of journalists to knowingly propagate lies

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EDMONTON, May 24 /CNW/ - When it comes to secrecy, nobody does it better than the prime minister's office.

Despite a field of tight-lipped competitors, Prime Minister Stephen Harper's office has run away with the Canadian Association of Journalists' Code of Silence Award for 2007.

"Harper's white-knuckled death grip on public information makes this the easiest decision the cabal of judges has ever rendered," said CAJ President Mary Agnes Welch. "He's gone beyond merely gagging cabinet ministers and professional civil servants, stalling access to information requests and blackballing reporters who ask tough questions. He has built a pervasive government apparatus whose sole purpose is to strangle the flow of public information."

The ignominious award, handed out Saturday night at the CAJ's investigative journalism awards banquet, dishonours the country's most secretive government, department or agency for obfuscatory excellence. Harper's office was the overwhelming choice for this award.

"If journalists can't get basic information from the federal government, Canadians can't hold the government accountable. The Prime Minister's Office has repeatedly demonstrated contempt for the public's right to know," Welch said. "Harper pledged to run a government that was open, transparent and accountable, but his track record to-date has been abysmal."

Harper was invited to accept the award in person but failed to respond.

The other nominees for the CAJ Code of Silence Award were:

• The B.C. government's climate change secretariat for holding closed- door meetings and refusing to reveal basic information about its members, funding and stakeholder presentations.

• The city of Rossland, B.C., for falsifying records of a council meeting and forcing a city councillor to resort to freedom of information requests to get documents that should be public.

• The Ontario government for the secretive tendering process involve in building nuclear power plants worth $26 billion.

• Ontario's Ministry of Children and Youth Services for their two-year delay in releasing daycare records following a freedom of information request by the Toronto Star. The records revealed serious problems at several hundred of the 4,400 licensed daycares in the province.

• Transport Canada for proposed draconian secrecy provisions in amendments to the Aeronautics Act. If implemented, these will see a veil of secrecy fall over all information reported by airlines about performance, safety violations, aviation safety problems and their resolution.

• The town of Montague, P.E.I., for using loopholes in the provincial Municipalities Act to hold pre-council meetings in the guise of committee of the whole sessions.

The Canadian Association of Journalists is a professional organization with more than 1,500 members across Canada. The CAJ's primary role is to provide public-interest advocacy and quality professional development for its members.

For more information, visit www.caj.ca.

For further information:
Mary Agnes Welch, CAJ president,
Cell: (204) 470-8862;
John Dickins, CAJ executive director,
Cell: (613) 868-5442

Mark Carney's fraudulent actions have cost the Canada Pension Plan $300 million and counting

"Mark Carney is widely credited as the key bureaucratic point man in Finance Minister Jim Flaherty's controversial decision to tax income trusts." Canadian Business, Jan 30 2008

$300 million in CPP income trust losses (spreadsheet attached). Perhaps it's time for the Auditor General to perform her stated role:

"Parliamentarians need objective fact based information on how well that government raises its funds (taxes)"

The following material is from Les Parsneau, a retired Canadian from Collingwood, Ontario who believes government should be transparent and accountable, rather than corrupt and misleading. He has major concerns about our rogue Finance Minister who puts Jerome Kerviel of Societe General to shame:

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Societe General's $7 billion loss is chump change when compared to the devastation that Flaherty has caused with his tax on the income trusts. A tax that was perpetrated using fraudulent numbers and untrue rationale. See the lies and the proof that they are lies below.

Where are you Mass Media?

The biggest ripoff in Canadian history!!!

Read the lies and read why they are lies from sources such as BMO, Deloitte and HLB Decision Economics.

No story there?

Since October 31, 2006:

• Over $37 billion in income trust losses.
  
• Over $300 million in CPP income trust losses.
  
• Over $1.4 billion in annual trust distributions and their annual taxes lost in perpetuity - the tax leakage Flaherty created
• Over $18 billion in oil and gas trust losses while the price of oil has increased nearly 50% to over $90 per barrel.
  

From the Ways and Means motion, November 2, 2006 and comments from Mr. Flaherty:

Government Lie 1: to eliminate the tax leakage caused by the income trusts ( the real tax leakage is 5% of the government's numbers)

Proof it is a lie:
HLB Decision Economics report - Independent economists discredit govt tax leakage claims

Government Lie 2: ensuring that taxes are not unfairly shifted onto the shoulders of Canadian taxpayers, especially Canadian families,

Proof it is a lie:
Deloitte report - Income trust buyouts: Lots of activity, little tax revenue

Government Lie 3: helping corporations make choices that are consistent with economic growth and competitiveness,

Proof it is a lie:
Price Waterhouse report - Income trusts are efficient at investing, growing

Government Lie 4: bringing Canada's approach to the taxation of trusts and partnerships back in line with other jurisdictions.

Proof it is a lie:
BMO report - Digging Deeper, a perspective on U.S. Flow-Through Structures

Les Parsneau
Collingwood, ON



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Conservative spin check: What is Gwyn Morgan talking about?

On Income Trusts:

"From the financial pain point of view it's good to see the trusts index is higher than it was last year at this time when the announcement was made"
Gwyn Morgan, October 31 2007

"From the ethical conduct point of view its disappointing to see that the cabal of self serving trust tax instigators, like Gwyn Morgan, are still promulgating false precepts and false arguments to disown the litany of negative consequences of their ill conceived act of betrayal"
Brent Fullard, November 1 2007

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All the Canadian Trust Indexes are down. Gwyn Morgan is wrong.

REITs vs TSX





Energy Trust Index vs TSX





Income Trust Index vs TSX

Senator Larry Campbell’s Weblog: How Stephen Harper trapped Randy Kellen

November 16, 2006

I’m 52 years old, self employed most of my working life and of course no organized pension fund other than what I have managed to save over the years. I’m a saver, frugal even, we have RSP’s but it is not a great amount; both my wife and myself have other savings, my house is paid out and we have also managed to put some money into a resp for my daughter should she decide to carry on her education.

In planning for our retirement I have being looking for several years on options to continue an income stream upon retiring; and in so doing happened upon Trusts about 4 years ago and started slowly to create a portfolio of diversified and royalty trusts. We educated and informed ourselves regarding trusts and what to look for as to sustainability of income flows. We did not invest blindly into trusts!

In doing financial planning for my self and wife we will need to earn almost $80,000 before tax to continue with the same life style that my wife has become accustom to. I was surprised at this amount and repeated it several time only to continue to come up with this same figure. We are not big spenders, three quarters of the after tax money went straight to living expenses.

So you see why I had fallen in love with Trusts, it would allow us to enjoy a life style that we had grown accustom to and potential growth. So, over the past few years we have slowly added to our portfolio to the point I could see some light at the end of the tunnel and perhaps a retirement date in the near future.

Last year, when the Liberal government suggested that trust should be tax or the structure of trusts be change we lost on paper a fair amount of capital. We along with all trust investors were quite relieved when they decided to not proceed with these changes. Further, a new conservative government stated that no future changes would be needed or attempted.

Now I am in a bit of a quandary, under the presumption that this new government would not touch trusts, we made application for a margin account and of course purchased more trusts to take advantage of the low prime rate and the attractive over all return on our basket of trusts. What could go wrong, we were finally on top of our financial future by using all the tools and resources legally allowed to us and sanctioned by our own government! We have lost far more money now than we ever thought possible!

This week, like tens, thousands, hundred of thousands, perhaps millions of others, have run the full range of emotions from disgust, to fear, to loathing this government. We have lost a fair amount of capital, and we still owe the margin amount to the bank.

The future looks grim for us and many others, we will have less capital, less money to spend, less trips and our standard of living if and when we retire will be lowered substantially. With less spending from the so-called “boomers” what will happen to the Canadian economy. Business communities have being gearing up for the future spending of this group that I think will not be as great now as it could have been. Tax loss selling and expenses will no doubt be greater this and following years to offset there income from years previous. We will ultimately pay fewer taxes to help fund Revenue Canada and many trusts will be at risk of being purchased from other than Canadian companies. Our resources are slowly being purchased and controlled by non-Canadians along with any income, tax revenue (if any is available after write offs) and the ultimate spending benefit from such.

What is ultimately the trickle-down effect, we are not the only Income, Reit or Royalty trust holders. Many individuals from mutual fund investors, to pension funds, to CPP, to perhaps even yourselves. How is this multi billion dollar loss in investors portfolios going to affect spending habits of the so called “boomers”. For the last ten years we have been hearing about this massive group of individuals that will have money to spend or at least did until this attack on fixed income retirees and those of us who where close to retiring. Spending from this group will affect every business from restaurants to cosmetic surgery.

The future looks grim for ourselves and many others, we will have less capital, less money to spend, less trips and our standard of living if and when we retire will be lowered substantially. With less spending from the so-called “boomers” what will happen to the Canadian economy?

To me this ill-advised, knee jerk reaction that this Government has proposed will ultimately hurt not only our country but those that have built this country by paying their taxes in the past. My wife and I, since owning trusts, have never paid so much tax as we have these past four years.
As I mentioned above that our future retirement timing, capital and income has been affected greatly by this government decision.

Please add your voice; say no to this incredibly destructive proposal!

Source: Senator Larry Campbell's Weblog

Related:
Stephen Harper lays his trap

Letters to Editor: Betrayal not forgotten

Looks like Mr. Harper is spoiling for an election, money is starting to flow to all kinds of causes, and he even let the press talk to him and it wasn’t scripted. I’m sure all kinds of promises will be made, just as before the last election.

The first anniversary of what has been the cruelest act of any Canadian government to its seniors, who he encouraged to invest for yield, is on Oct. 31. “Don’t forget, don’t forget,” he said before the last election. Don’t forget the Liberals were going to tax income trusts. Don’t forget we will never let that happen. We will never raid seniors hard earned money.

Well, guess what? He lied. Betraying seniors meant nothing to the Conservatives once they had what they wanted. This was just one of the many broken promises the Conservatives made.

Accountability means nothing to them, patronage appointments number in the hundreds. His own pension fund is one of the beneficiaries of the attack on seniors with no pensions. Their friend, Manulife, has gained the most from the broken promise; days after the betrayal they popped up with Income Plus. Coincidence? Hardly.

Let us, the voters, not forget broken promises and betrayal. Mr. Dion has been chastised by the press for not being strong but he has not lied to me. I know where my vote is going.

CAREY TURNER
Source: The Lethbridge Herald

Related:
Stephen Harper - Promises Made 1
Stephen Harper - Promises Made 2

Harper's Promises: Lie. Conceal. Fabricate.

Decisions. Decisions. Decisions.

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In Toronto and highly visible on the Gardiner/QEW at the foot of Parliament Street

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Seen in Downtown Toronto

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Lie. Conceal. Fabricate. Harpers $35 Billion Income Trust Scandal

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Billboard in Harperland

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