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bizorky
Guest
Scandal?
At worst, a betting person would have had a 50/50 chance of getting this one right. If you were following the story closely, it was reasonably clear what the decision was going to be. None of this was top secret stuff.
At worst, a betting person would have had a 50/50 chance of getting this one right. If you were following the story closely, it was reasonably clear what the decision was going to be. None of this was top secret stuff.
A
afransen TO
Guest
Biggest non-issue of the month, I'd say.
M
mpolo2
Guest
I agree. Transactions and events occur every day that can move the market and if one individual made some phone calls that impact some and not others there are laws to deal with that. The real crime is that the Liberal fumbling and waffling of the issue lost a lot of people a lot of value in their RRSPs. And unfortunately, the more knowledgeable institutional investors were much less impacted while a lot of small-fry retail investors took all thier money out after the drop and got killed.
M
mpolo2
Guest
I agree. Transactions and events occur every day that can move the market and if one individual made some phone calls that impact some and not others there are laws to deal with that. The real crime is that the Liberal fumbling and waffling of the issue lost a lot of people a lot of value in their RRSPs. And unfortunately, the more knowledgeable institutional investors were much less impacted while a lot of small-fry retail investors took all thier money out after the drop and got killed.
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afransen TO
Guest
Small fry investors should be considering what their plan's are. Unless you want to make money by buying high and selling low, you should be less emotional with your trading.
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blixa442
Guest
The biggest non-story of the year investigated by RCMP
RCMP starts criminal probe of trust leak
Dec. 28, 2005. 08:17 PM
MARIA BABBAGE
CANADIAN PRESS
OTTAWA — The whiff of scandal was pumped into the federal election campaign today with confirmation that the RCMP has begun a criminal investigation into the possibility of a leak from the Liberal government prior to an announcement on taxation of income trusts.
Opposition parties are calling for Finance Minister Ralph Goodale to resign amidst allegations that one Conservative MP says “smells from top to bottom.â€
RCMP Sgt. Nathalie Deschenes confirmed Wednesday that the Mounties had launched a criminal probe into the matter, saying they had “sufficient information†for an investigation.
While the investigation will determine whether there’s enough evidence to warrant criminal charges, Deschenes said they aren’t sure how long their probe will take.
The probe stems from opposition complaints following a surge in trading of income trusts units on the Toronto Stock Exchange in the hours immediately before a major government announcement on the popular investment vehicles.
Opposition parties pointed to the dramatic increase in late-day trades on Nov. 23 — before Goodale announced there would be no taxation of the popular investment vehicles — as evidence of insider trading.
RCMP Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli confirmed in a letter that the Mounties are looking into a possible breach of security prior to the announcement, but made no mention of who was being investigated.
The Mounties also noted in a statement that “there is no evidence of wrongdoing or illegal activity on the part of anyone associated to this investigation,†including Goodale.
But opposition MPs wasted no time in condemning the Liberals and portraying the party as rife with corruption.
“This is not just some normal, run-of-the-mill, Ottawa Liberal scandal,†Conservative MP Jason Kenney told reporters Wednesday
“In this case, a handful of powerful and wealthy insiders with special access to privileged information in the Liberal government made millions — perhaps tens of millions of dollars — at the expense of ordinary, mainstream, Mom-and-Pop Canadian investors.â€
NDP finance critic, Judy Wasylycia-Leis, who received word of the investigation, says Goodale should step aside until the investigation is complete.
“I’m not asking him to pay any political price, he is free to continue to run as a Liberal candidate in the election,†she said from Toronto.
“There’s got to be certainty that, with or without elections ... that there’s a credibility in the market place.â€
Goodale, who is seen as one of the Liberal government’s most effective front-benchers, has insisted there was no leak from his department ahead of the Nov. 23 announcement.
Opposition parties have been hammering the Liberals for about a month over the issue, suggesting the stock movements show Liberal-friendly market players must have obtained inside tips from senior members of the party.
Pointing the finger also allows opposing parties to link the Liberals to yet another corruption scandal in the middle of the election campaign that’s rapidly taking a nasty turn.
The Conservatives have blasted the Liberals over the sponsorship scandal that occurred under then-prime minister Jean Chrétien. With a criminal probe underway, the Tories have been given more fuel for their contention that corruption is synonymous with the Liberal government.
The RCMP had been reviewing the allegations following a formal request for a probe by the NDP.
The Ontario Securities Commission hasn’t said whether it’s looking into a complaint laid by the Conservatives.
Wasylycia-Leis has also sent the regulatory body a letter seeking clarification about a possible investigation.
The RCMP investigation does not necessarily mean there will be criminal charges. Some market veterans have said they weren’t surprised by the spike of buying and selling on the stock exchange, given how often rumour moves the market.
Some traders suggested Goodale also had very few policy choices available to deal with income trusts, so his ultimate decision wasn’t too hard to guess.
The finance minister didn’t change the tax rules that applied to Canada’s booming income trust sector, but announced new guidelines that will reduce personal income taxes on corporate dividends.
The move — intended to level the financial playing field between corporations and trusts — was seen as the more politically acceptable option. Much of Bay Street and many retired Canadians had demanded that Goodale leave the dividend-paying trust sector alone.
Prior to the official announcement, analysts and economists had speculated that Goodale would leave income trusts alone in newspaper articles and research notes to clients.
Goodale called for a federal review of the income-trust sector — and its favourable tax treatment — in September after a Canadian bank openly mused about income trust conversion.
Corporations that convert to trusts are able to avoid paying income taxes by instead paying most of their cash flow to investors. Those investors are then taxed on the distributions they receive.
Finance officials worried that millions would be lost in corporate tax revenues and the lack of corporate reinvestment in favour of distributions to unitholders.
RCMP starts criminal probe of trust leak
Dec. 28, 2005. 08:17 PM
MARIA BABBAGE
CANADIAN PRESS
OTTAWA — The whiff of scandal was pumped into the federal election campaign today with confirmation that the RCMP has begun a criminal investigation into the possibility of a leak from the Liberal government prior to an announcement on taxation of income trusts.
Opposition parties are calling for Finance Minister Ralph Goodale to resign amidst allegations that one Conservative MP says “smells from top to bottom.â€
RCMP Sgt. Nathalie Deschenes confirmed Wednesday that the Mounties had launched a criminal probe into the matter, saying they had “sufficient information†for an investigation.
While the investigation will determine whether there’s enough evidence to warrant criminal charges, Deschenes said they aren’t sure how long their probe will take.
The probe stems from opposition complaints following a surge in trading of income trusts units on the Toronto Stock Exchange in the hours immediately before a major government announcement on the popular investment vehicles.
Opposition parties pointed to the dramatic increase in late-day trades on Nov. 23 — before Goodale announced there would be no taxation of the popular investment vehicles — as evidence of insider trading.
RCMP Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli confirmed in a letter that the Mounties are looking into a possible breach of security prior to the announcement, but made no mention of who was being investigated.
The Mounties also noted in a statement that “there is no evidence of wrongdoing or illegal activity on the part of anyone associated to this investigation,†including Goodale.
But opposition MPs wasted no time in condemning the Liberals and portraying the party as rife with corruption.
“This is not just some normal, run-of-the-mill, Ottawa Liberal scandal,†Conservative MP Jason Kenney told reporters Wednesday
“In this case, a handful of powerful and wealthy insiders with special access to privileged information in the Liberal government made millions — perhaps tens of millions of dollars — at the expense of ordinary, mainstream, Mom-and-Pop Canadian investors.â€
NDP finance critic, Judy Wasylycia-Leis, who received word of the investigation, says Goodale should step aside until the investigation is complete.
“I’m not asking him to pay any political price, he is free to continue to run as a Liberal candidate in the election,†she said from Toronto.
“There’s got to be certainty that, with or without elections ... that there’s a credibility in the market place.â€
Goodale, who is seen as one of the Liberal government’s most effective front-benchers, has insisted there was no leak from his department ahead of the Nov. 23 announcement.
Opposition parties have been hammering the Liberals for about a month over the issue, suggesting the stock movements show Liberal-friendly market players must have obtained inside tips from senior members of the party.
Pointing the finger also allows opposing parties to link the Liberals to yet another corruption scandal in the middle of the election campaign that’s rapidly taking a nasty turn.
The Conservatives have blasted the Liberals over the sponsorship scandal that occurred under then-prime minister Jean Chrétien. With a criminal probe underway, the Tories have been given more fuel for their contention that corruption is synonymous with the Liberal government.
The RCMP had been reviewing the allegations following a formal request for a probe by the NDP.
The Ontario Securities Commission hasn’t said whether it’s looking into a complaint laid by the Conservatives.
Wasylycia-Leis has also sent the regulatory body a letter seeking clarification about a possible investigation.
The RCMP investigation does not necessarily mean there will be criminal charges. Some market veterans have said they weren’t surprised by the spike of buying and selling on the stock exchange, given how often rumour moves the market.
Some traders suggested Goodale also had very few policy choices available to deal with income trusts, so his ultimate decision wasn’t too hard to guess.
The finance minister didn’t change the tax rules that applied to Canada’s booming income trust sector, but announced new guidelines that will reduce personal income taxes on corporate dividends.
The move — intended to level the financial playing field between corporations and trusts — was seen as the more politically acceptable option. Much of Bay Street and many retired Canadians had demanded that Goodale leave the dividend-paying trust sector alone.
Prior to the official announcement, analysts and economists had speculated that Goodale would leave income trusts alone in newspaper articles and research notes to clients.
Goodale called for a federal review of the income-trust sector — and its favourable tax treatment — in September after a Canadian bank openly mused about income trust conversion.
Corporations that convert to trusts are able to avoid paying income taxes by instead paying most of their cash flow to investors. Those investors are then taxed on the distributions they receive.
Finance officials worried that millions would be lost in corporate tax revenues and the lack of corporate reinvestment in favour of distributions to unitholders.
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bizorky
Guest
Re: The biggest non-story of the year investigated by RCMP
Hyperbole during an election, imagine that?
And the RCMP is investigating. Last time I checked, police will investigate so SEE whether a crime as been committed. It does not automatically mean that it is so. And a Conservative MP yelling "scandal," how brazenly original!
Like I said earlier, at the very worst a betting person had a 50/50 chance of being right on this decision just by guessing (concerning trusts).
The whiff of scandal was pumped into the federal election campaign today with confirmation that the RCMP has begun a criminal investigation into the possibility of a leak from the Liberal government prior to an announcement on taxation of income trusts.
Opposition parties are calling for Finance Minister Ralph Goodale to resign amidst allegations that one Conservative MP says “smells from top to bottom.â€
Hyperbole during an election, imagine that?
And the RCMP is investigating. Last time I checked, police will investigate so SEE whether a crime as been committed. It does not automatically mean that it is so. And a Conservative MP yelling "scandal," how brazenly original!
Like I said earlier, at the very worst a betting person had a 50/50 chance of being right on this decision just by guessing (concerning trusts).
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Abeja de Almirante
Guest
Re: The biggest non-story of the year investigated by RCMP
I think the Federal Liberals are scandal-proof, in so much that no matter what they do, they continue to win electiones. This tells me that either the are scandal-proof due to lack of opposition combined with lack of caring of the electorate.
I think the Federal Liberals are scandal-proof, in so much that no matter what they do, they continue to win electiones. This tells me that either the are scandal-proof due to lack of opposition combined with lack of caring of the electorate.
R
rbtaylor
Guest
Re: The biggest non-story of the year investigated by RCMP
I don't believe in guilt by association myself. In a large enough group someone will have committed a crime but I don't think that is a good reason for punishing the entire group. Have we had a government in Canada which did not have an investigation or criminal charges on one of the elected members? I remember parts of the Air Bus fiasco and recall reading that John A. MacDonald had a bit of a scandal way back when.I think the Federal Liberals are scandal-proof, in so much that no matter what they do, they continue to win electiones. This tells me that either the are scandal-proof due to lack of opposition combined with lack of caring of the electorate.
A
Abeja de Almirante
Guest
This group is not that large, with only a hundred-plus MPs and their riding associations. However, I imagine this is the line of thinking the Liberals will use to defend the record of scandals. They are scandal-proof, since no matter what they do, they continue to win.I don't believe in guilt by association myself. In a large enough group someone will have committed a crime but I don't think that is a good reason for punishing the entire group.
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Abeja de Almirante
Guest
The buck has to stop somewhere.
E
EnviroTO
Guest
Here is a thought... the Liberals keep having their campaign agenda leaked putting egg on Martin's face day after day. Obviously Martin and any real Liberal would not want this info out because it screws the party and makes them look bad. Perhaps the insider is not a true Liberal at all (maybe working for Harper) and he leaked the governments decision on income trust.
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blixa442
Guest
Stronach? :rollin
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billy corgan19982
Guest
Here is a thought... the Liberals keep having their campaign agenda leaked putting egg on Martin's face day after day. Obviously Martin and any real Liberal would not want this info out because it screws the party and makes them look bad. Perhaps the insider is not a true Liberal at all (maybe working for Harper) and he leaked the governments decision on income trust.
Can Martin and the Liberals do no wrong in your eyes? I know you don’t like the Conservatives but blaming Harper and his team for the leak is a little far fetched.