Diane Ablonzcy on the leveraged buyout of BCE

“I thinks its an alarmist’s view of what will happen”

This note below is dated March 27, 2007 and is from a Calgary resident of Conservative MP Diane Ablonczy’s riding. Diane Ablonczy was then the parliamentary secretary to the Finance Minister Jim Flaherty. The riding meeting tool place in the immediate aftermath of Flaherty’s income trust tax and before its many “unintended consequences” had emerged:

I was in attendance at the March 6, 2007 Ablonczy riding meeting. The question of the evening and the only one she did not dodge or spin was as follows.

"What is the Canadian Government's stance on the scenario of US private money crossing the boarder and purchasing undervalued assets such as Telus.?" "How will you approach the scenario of US ownership, profit moving south and debt left in Canada?"

Ablonczy replied that she was not aware on anybody buying Telus and that the questioner was "fear mongering". "Nobody buys into that argument" she clearly stated. “I think it’s an alarmist’s view of what will happen” she concluded

Imagine my surprise when I read today that the worlds largest private equity firm, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts is attempting to launch a take over of BCE. If memory serves me BCE was one of the nasty Corps that was going to become a trust and deprive the good people of Canada of tax dollars.