Stéphane Dion speaks to the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce

Excerpt from Oct 10 Speech:

"In eleven years in politics, I have never broken my word. I will be a Prime Minister that you can trust. And speaking of trusts, let us talk about income trusts. As Prime Minister, I would never have assured investors, particularly our country’s seniors that it was safe to invest in income trusts if I didn’t mean it. Stephen Harper promised you he would not tax income trusts. But on Halloween last year, the Prime Minister imposed a punitive 31.5 per cent tax, immediately wiping out $25 billion of Canadians’ savings.

Imagine saving carefully your whole life only to see your hard-earned money vanish in one night because of a politician’s broken promise.

In the past year, we have seen many of Alberta’s strongest companies taken over by foreigners, after being weakened by the same broken promise.

Only last May, we urged the government to do something about foreign takeovers. They completely ignored our call, accusing us of being protectionist. Finally, yesterday they started to move and why? Because they know we were right and perceived as such by Canadian voters.

Now that the government is finally acting they must go further and adopt the Liberal income trust plan to fix the mess they created.

As many of you know, we have proposed to replace Harper’s punitive 31.5 per cent tax with a more modest 10 per cent tax that is refundable for Canadian investors. Experts like Yves Fortin have said that our plan will more than reverse any potential tax leakage. Gordon Tait of BMO Capital Markets and Dirk Lever of RBC Capital Markets agree we will restore up to two thirds of investors’ lost value. Unfortunately this plan can only help those trusts that have not been taken over since Halloween of last year. The longer we wait to adopt the Liberal plan, the worse it will get."

Read the complete speech

Related:
Taxation of Income Trusts, is it worth the cost and the turmoil? - Yves Fortin
A recipe for tax revenue loss - Yves Fortin
The Inconvenient Truth About Trusts - Gordon Tait
Deep Dive into Tax Issues: Canadian Pensioners Taxed Twice on Canadian Corporate Dividends - Dirk Lever
Digging Deeper - Cameron Renkas

Transparency and accountability vs Harper transparency and accountability

Transparency:

A management method where nearly all decision making is carried out publicly.

All draft documents, all arguments for and against a proposal, the decisions about the decision making process itself, and all final decisions, are made publicly and remain publicly archived.
Source: Wikipedia

Accountability:

In leadership roles, accountability is the acknowledgment and assumption of responsibility for actions, decisions, and policies including the administration, governance and implementation within the scope of the role and encompassing the obligation to report, explain and be answerable for resulting consequences.
Source: Wikipedia


Harper's transparency and accountability on income trusts:




View the complete 18 pages of Harper's transparency and accountability on income trusts.

Harper's policy of raiding seniors' nest eggs

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The environment has now turned quite good for Private Equity

"Private Equity found a very difficult environment for about a year and a half with the Income Trust market. The Income Trust market bid up all sorts of properties and it was very difficult for private equity to compete. With the change in the tax laws coming down the pike, opportunities are out there again and we are seeing a lot of deals. The environment has now turned quite good, not particularly good for Income Trusts, but good for Private Equity."
Richard Schmeelk CAI Private Equity, New York, Sept 25, 2007



Richard Schmeelk describes the effect the Conservative 'Tax Fairness Plan' has had on the Canadian income trust and energy market.

Who is Richard Schmeelk?

Dick Schmeelk, based in New York, was a founding partner of CAI Private Equity in 1989. Throughout his career, Mr. Schmeelk has been involved in Canadian-U.S. financial matters. During his tenure at Salomon Brothers, the firm was recognized as the leading U.S. investment banking firm serving the Canadian public and private sectors.

Mr. Schmeelk had senior responsibility for Salomon Brothers' relationships with the Government of Canada, seven Provinces and a number of other public sector entities. He also advised many corporations including Bell Canada, Canadian Pacific Limited, Imperial Oil Limited and Northern Telecom Ltd. Source: CAI

What is Private Equity?

Equity capital that is made available to companies or investors, but not quoted on a stock market. The average individual investor will not have access to private equity because it requires a very large investment. Source: Investopedia

Related:
The lambs lie down on Bay Street
Income Trusts and Canada’s Energy Sovereignty . . . . Past, Present and Future.
Trust Takeovers to October 1st, 2007
Primewest Energy Trust -Bought for Nothing Down & No Income Taxes
New low looms for Canadian IPO market, PwC survey shows
U.S. Crude Oil and Total Petroleum Imports Top 15 Countries - EIA

Meet Ralph Goodale and Garth Turner

Meet Hon. Ralph Goodale, P.C., MP for Wascana on Thursday evening, November 22nd, 2007 during a fundraising cocktail party at the home of our Member of Parliament, Garth Turner.

As Opposition House Leader, former Finance Minister and lifelong Liberal, Mr. Goodale is the kind of politician Canadians want to meet. This rare opportunity to host Ralph right here in our own riding is an honour indeed and will give us the chance to build that all important warchest.

Tickets will sell for $50.00 each. This will translate to an approximate tax credit of $37.50 meaning the actual cost to you will be $12.50. We have chosen to keep both our ticket sales and overhead low, so we can give as many folks as possible the chance to have an evening with Ralph and Garth.

Don’t miss this opportunity to spend some time chatting with two of Canada’s most dynamic parliamentarians.

Thursday, November 22nd, 2007 at 7:00 PM

263 Boland Crescent,
Campbellville, ON L0P 1B0

$50.00 – credit card or cheques
To purchase tickets or for more information contact:

haltonfund@gmail.com or call - 905-48-GARTH

Harper Says Using Current Rules to Review PrimeWest Takeover

Oct. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said he'll toughen foreign-investment rules to consider national security, a decision that won't apply to Abu Dhabi National Energy Co.'s planned purchase of Calgary-based PrimeWest Energy Trust. More...

Related:
Treating the symptoms. Two Jims in a Jam!
Primewest Energy Trust -Bought for Nothing Down & No Income Taxes
Trust Takeover Transactions
Pending Transactions

New low looms for Canadian IPO market, PwC survey shows

"The loss of the market for income trusts last October has had a number of knock-on effects," Sinclair contends. "Not only did a huge segment of the market disappear, it created a feeling of uncertainly among both investors and issuers. There would appear to be a significant perception of a 'policy limbo' as we see new proposals for the tax treatment of trusts proposed against the background of a possible federal election. In a market with so much uncertainty, everyone is treading carefully."

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TORONTO, Oct. 2 /CNW/ - Barring a surge in activity in the final quarter of the year, the 2007 Canadian market for initial public offerings appears headed for its lowest year in a decade, a survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) reveals.

The third quarter of 2007 saw just 22 of new issues on Canadian exchanges for a total value of $337 million, the survey shows. The trickle of new issues brings the total number of new issues to 63 for the first three quarters of the year. The value of new issues during the period reached $1.2 billion.

By comparison, the third quarter of 2006 saw 33 new issues on Canadian exchanges for a value of $650 million. In the first nine months of 2006, therewere 95 IPOs on Canadian exchanges with a value of $4.7 billion.

"At the current rate of activity, it is unlikely we will even reach the ten-year low-water mark, set in the aftermath of the collapse of tech stocks in 2001," observes Ross Sinclair, national leader for PwC's IPO and income trust services. Just 46 new issues with a total value of $2.1 billion were registered in 2001, Sinclair says. "We will need almost $1 billion of activity in the fourth quarter just to match the 2001 results."

Just four new issues made it to the TSX in the third quarter of 2007. The total value of IPOs on the TSX during the quarter was $255 million. The largest third quarter IPO on the TSX was the $131 million issue by Lockerbie & Hole Inc.

The TSX Venture exchange continued to fair much better, recording 15 new issues in the third quarter for a total of $79 million for the quarter. Sinclair credits high metal and commodity prices for the continued strength of new mining issues on the Venture exchange.

A confluence of events has created "a tepid and fragile IPO market environment" in Canada, Sinclair says. "The loss of the market for income trusts last October has had a number of knock-on effects," he contends. "Not only did a huge segment of the market disappear, it created a feeling of uncertainly among both investors and issuers. There would appear to be a significant perception of a 'policy limbo' as we see new proposals for the tax treatment of trusts proposed against the background of a possible federal election. In a market with so much uncertainty, everyone is treading carefully."

The market for new equity issues tumbled in the last quarter of 2006 following the announcement by the federal government of a new policy on the taxation of income trusts. There were 116 new issues with a value of $5.8 billion in all of 2006.

Survey of Canadian IPO Capital Markets January 2007 — September 2007 - PWC

Related:
IPO markets slow to a crawl - CBC

Trust Takeovers to October 1st, 2007

Trust Takeover Transactions



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Pending Transactions



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Dave Marshall's Story

Remembrance of Halloween Massacre to be held October 31 on Parliament Hill

A year ago Dave Marshall felt comfortable investing in Income Trusts. During the previous election campaign Stephen Harper assured Seniors like Dave and Loreen he would never raid Seniors nest eggs if elected as Prime Minister.

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Dave (70) and Loreen (61) Marshall lost $109,000 of retirement savings when Income Trust tax rule changes were announced on October 31, 2006
Source: The Turner Report

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Like millions of other Canadians, Dave and Loreen took Stephen Harper and the Conservatives at their word and invested a portion of their hard earned retirement savings in Income Trusts.

When Conservative Finance Minister Jim Flaherty announced his surprise big new tax on Trusts last Halloween, Dave says “I didn’t really understand it that night, you know, the full extent of the damage that was being done.”

Dave found out soon enough when $109,000 in market value was erased from his retirement funds. The Income Trust market has not bounced back and Dave isn't getting any younger.

The Initial Loss


The Continuing Loss


Dave needs your help.

On the first anniversary of Harper's broken promise to Income Trust Investors there will be a remembrance on Parliament Hill. Seniors and all Canadians demand truthfulness and honesty from our government, something they did not get from Stephen Harper.

"This is more than about Income Trusts. It is also about the lying that Harper has done during the last campaign and continues to do at every opportunity," Dave continues, "If this type of behavior is unacceptable to you, then this will be a good time to express that feeling. There are just too many decent MP's on the hill that we have to put up with the likes of Harper and Flaherty."

October 31, 2007 Remembrance March - itinerary and details from Dave Marshall:

• Meet Dave at the Justice Building on Wellington Street, 12:30PM to 1:00PM

• Arrive on Parliament Hill 1:00PM

• Remembrance March on Parliament Hill 1:00PM to 1:30PM

• Then get checked through security and go to the visitors gallery for question period. The reason for the long period between 1:30PM and question period is that protesters are given extra attention by security.
  

• Bring clothing that is suitable for the weather conditions.

• We should not bring a sign with a stick as this maybe deemed as a weapon by security.

• For those of us that have trouble walking there is a shuttle bus that runs from the Justice Building to the Centre Block and back. It runs about every five minutes and it is free.
  

Please give this serious consideration, bring your wife, family, girlfriend and lots of friends.

Please let me know if you are coming. We need a good showing.

Thank you,

David Marshall
1-613-938-0810
grumpymarshall@sympatico.ca
Cornwall, Ontario

Related:
‘A valuable investment vehicle’ - garth.ca

Canada Under Seige: Thanks Harper and Flaherty - Diane Francis

Canadian policies are facilitating the buyout of Canada. Canadian energy trusts are bought with 100% financing borrowed from foreign lenders or entities. Interest payments are made from Canadian cash flow which used to be distributed to trust unitholders and taxable.

The interest payments to foreigners are also exempt from the 15% withholding tax. This means that taxable cash flow has become tax-free mortgage payments to buy energy assets. More...

Related:
Jim Flaherty's Folly