At a public meeting on March 6, 2007, Diane Ablonczy was asked about the possibility of Telus being acquired by way of a leveraged buyout. The question could just as easily have been about BCE.
At the time of this question Diane Ablonczy was Parliamentary Secretary to Finance Minister Jim Flaherty. Based on her skills of denial and subterfuge, she was later promoted by Stephen Harper to his cabinet, where such skills are obviously highly valued. Here was the question and Diane’s response:
“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 told the the questioner that he 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
Well, I have a new question for Diane Ablonczy. Now that it has happened, what are you going to do about it? What are you going to do about the 2,500 lost jobs. These aren’t temporary layoffs. These are permanent job losses. What about this $34 billion of new debt, that on top of the existing debt means that BCE will pay zero taxes as a corporation, since these massive interest payments are tax deductible? That means that BCE will pay $800 million less in taxes every year for a company that was acquired for a mere $8 billion in equity. That means that Canadian taxpayers are funding 10% of the purchasers purchase price each and every year. In ten years, the whole thing will have been paid for by Canadian tax payers. I hope that Ontario Teachers’ and its three US partners are happy
Rather than helping to fund 10% of Teachers’ purchase price every year, these taxes would be sufficient to fully fund the cost of the Registered Educational Savings Plan, as the Green Party wisely called for, and that would allow parents to fund their children’s post secondary educations.
So the question remains, now that the very event that was predicted by one of your constituents back in March 2007 has come true, Diane Ablonczy, what are you going to do about it, since your “alarmist” comment, left nothing open for interpretation. You too, insinuated that you found the prospect of BCE taken over by private equity to be an unwelcome outcome.
So why did Industry Minister Prentice approve it?
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Diane Ablonczy comments on LBO of BCE
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6 comments:
It appears that the alarmist view was inadequate & there was no fear mongering here after all .
What we feared has come to fruition & the result was worse than we had envisioned. Losing tax base at this rate cannot be sustained for any length of time without the necessity of raising the tax rate or cutting expenditures (re: programs).
Diane A & her Conservative brethren were either shining us with the best con job ever or they were sadly misinformed.
Either way the citizen on the street will pay.
This is what happens when a close-minded group is running the show.
Dr Mike Popovich.
The same Diane Ablonzcy that was an "active" member of the Western Concepts Group that wanted to separate Man/Alta/Sask/BC/NWT from Canada and to preserve European and Christian culture in Canada...uh, huh.
Don't expect answer. She like ever other CONservaive MP have the people of this coimtry on "ignore".
You have two choices with the CONS either you agree with me or you agree with me.
Of course, the NDP aren''t a world better either. Their motto is "don't think just follow."
No problem, ladies and gentlemen.
Like Flaherty, Madame Abloncy will tell you that it's all OK since the pensions will be taxed when Teachers pay them to their retirees.
Like Flaherty, Madame Abloncy will tell you that pension funds and RRSP are tax exempt to justify the destruction of income trusts and then they will tell you that simply tax deferred when they want to deny the disaster they caused due to the destruction of income trusts.
Maybe they read George Orwell and learned the New Speak!
YF
Diane A-Bomb is just an old hen cackling the Harper-Flaherty party line. We really do have some idiots running this country, don't we?
Paul Sirois
Yes, Diane Albaloney, another one of those Alberta MP's who voted for Power Corporation and Manulife's intersts over those of their Alberta Income Trust businesses and investors. Art Hanger and Myron Thompson are too afraid to face their constituents in the next election. Dumb Diane, who got her economics degree out of a Cracker Jack box, will get her boot out the door come the next election.
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