Monday, March 3, 2008

CEO of TSX criticizes government with confusion caused by Flaherty's trust tax


Finally someone in Canada’s securities industry who understands capital markets.

The comments of today by the CEO of the TSX are in stark contrast to the completely self serving comments of TD Bank’s CEO who claimed the trust tax reversal brought greater certainty to the markets. Yeah right. Just like Harper’s lawsuit of today brings greater accountability to high office.

Who in their right mind would invest in Canada with any comfort after the income trust tax fraudulent policy? More like a banana republic marketplace.

The Canadian Press
March 3, 2008 - 4:47 p.m.

TORONTO - Canada needs more public policy that welcomes foreign investment and less of an environment in which Canadian companies are confined and isolated, the co-CEO of TSX Group Inc. (TSX:X), parent of the Toronto Stock Exchange, said Monday.

"The broader policy environment needs work. As a destination for foreign capital, we are not as attractive as we could be and should be to global markets," Rik Parkhill said in an address to the annual convention of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada.

"That means Canada needs public policies that welcome foreign investors in our economy and welcome Canadians going abroad to build this country's wealth."

Parkhill, who became co-CEO of the TSX Group along with CFO Michael Ptasznik in January, suggested Canada is behind other countries in the area of "mutual recognition"

"For us, depending on the final form it takes and the critical details that determine whether the rink is level or tilted toward U.S. goals, mutual recognition will make it easier for us to attract U.S. listings," Parkhill said.

"That is because it will be easier for U.S. investors to trade U.S. companies on TSX and TSX Venture and, of course, Canadian companies whether they are looking for gold, digging for potash or building a solar panel business. As it stands right now, there are significant barriers for retail investors who want to access our markets in Canada."

On top of confusion caused by the federal government's decision to begin taxing income trusts in 2011, a policy that caused "fuzziness" surrounding interest-deduction taxation related to takeovers by Canadian companies of foreign firms, the country's overall policy is lacking, he said.

The trust legislation "spooked" larger players "....but the bigger problem is a policy approach that views the Canadian market and especially Canadian capital markets as an island unto itself," Parkhill said.

"It is not a matter of protecting Canadian champions that is involved here. It is a matter of supporting global champions - like our mining industry, and, in our chosen niches, our exchange industry."

Parkhill's remarks come after years of concern among some over the potential "hollowing out" of corporate Canada as foreign-owned firms scoop up valuable resource players and hallowed icons.

Among notable companies bought out in recent years by non-Canadian firms have been retailer Hudsons Bay Co., miners Falconbridge and Inco, metals giant Alcan and steelmakers Stelco, Dofasco and Algoma Steel

The association's annual convention each year is one of the biggest gatherings of mine industry executives in the world.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Brought market certainty to whom---Manulife or London Life maybe.

Not to me it didn`t.

Well , actually , it did in a way--I am now certain the markets were not allowed to do the job they were designed to do--they would have policed themselves over time & allowed for the corrections required to weed out entities that were not suited for the trust model.

It would have also forced big corporations to better themselves in the areas of accounting practices & better fiscal management.

At present , the corporate structure is the less efficient of the two--huge amounts of money are wasted yearly on "hairbrained" schemes that the shareholders have no clue about--these same shareholders accept low dividend levels as normal.

Not so with the trust structure where regular monthly accounting practices make every dollar count because they know their owners expect efficiency a decent return.

It was just a shame that the gov`t interfered the way it did , especially when there was no need.

Mike.

Anonymous said...

Could someone - anyone - please, please shut that loud-mouth Flaherty up.

I'm sick to death of hearing that bombastic blowhard trash-talk Ontario into the ground.

Anonymous said...

Mike:

As per our previous discussion on the previous blog:

Thanks.

At this time, I will say no more. ;)

Many regards.

Bob

Anonymous said...

While we're at it, please do the same with Mike Duffy.

I've heard more sucking noises from him than from my vacuum cleaner.

And what page of the CON, Republican, Flanagan and Finley playbook is this anyway?

Anonymous said...

Finally... yes finally someone in Toronto is saying what should have been howled long and loudly starting November 2006.

You don't need to be a capital market expert to know that Flaherty, the All-Republican hero, kneed the TSX right between the legs.

If he was some whacko Canadian socialist from Stubaskewan or Beeceeflucky, I'd understand. But he's a so-called conservative from Ontario.

Truth is stranger than fiction.