Canada's Premiers practice Voodoo economics that destroyed Canadians RRSPs

Canada's provincial premiers, who are today calling for action on pensions are the very same group who supported the income trust tax that was based on a tax leakage ruse that ignored the taxes paid by RRSPs. So their solution was to tax them a second time at 31.5% for good measure? How is that consistent with financial theory or their new found desire to protect RRSPs, when that action caused Canadians to lose $35 billion.

These Premiers are merely puppets for somebody. Who? Harper? Paul Desmarais Jr.? Dominic D’Allessandro? Jim Leech? Who? Certainly not Canadians at large. We don’t need their crocodile tears of sympathy. A few facts would be in order before they are to be taken seriously in these challenging economic times. No more shooting from the hip policies of pension destruction, shrouded in the total mystery of 18 pages of blacked out voodoo economics

Premiers urge quick action on pensions, infrastructure

3 hours ago

OTTAWA — The premiers are urging Ottawa to act quickly on protecting the viability of pension plans, speed up infrastructure spending and rescue Ontario's teetering auto industry.

The issues appear uppermost on the premiers' agenda as they gathered for a three-hour working lunch with Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

"If we don't get it right on how we treat pension plans, we could affect their jobs," said Manitoba Premier Gary Doer on the issue of pension sustainability.

"If we don't get it right on pension plan flexibility, we could have the market just whack a lot of people close to age 71 and they may take a huge hit. These are very, very important issues."

Canadians who turn 71 this year must convert their RRSPs into retirement income funds - known as RIFs - even though the value of their plans have tumbled. As well, private pension plans have been hard hit by the collapse of equity markets and are looking for a relaxation of the rules on funding shortfalls.

Nova Scotia's Rodney MacDonald, Doer and British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell urged Ottawa to increase the mandatory age for conversion to allow retirees more flexibility and give them time for the value of the RRSP savings to recover.

"The fact of the matter is we should give them the opportunity to have the value of their life savings recover," Campbell said. "Frankly, if we don't let Canadians take care of themselves, at the end of the day it falls back to government to take care of them."

Meanwhile, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty said he is looking for co-operation from Ottawa on a rescue package for the teetering auto sector.

"I think there's understanding what's at stake here - 400,000 jobs, 12 Ontario communities, $28 billion in wealth generation, five per cent of our (gross domestic product), it's a pretty significant sector," he said.

Most of the first ministers appear to agree that with the economy slumping, a first step for governments is to inject stimulus by speeding up spending on infrastructure projects already approved in principle.

Quebec Premier Jean Charest said there is no excuse for further delays in about $4 billion in spending that has already been approved.

And the premier said Harper "would send a very powerful signal" by committing to the construction of a high-speed train line along the Quebec City-Windsor, Ont. corridor.

The premiers and Prime Minister Stephen Harper are meeting for the first time since the financial crisis intensified during the fall federal election and sent global economies stumbling toward recession.

The prime minister has been playing down expectations for the meeting, but Finance Minister Jim Flaherty suggested Sunday the government may be willing to aid auto plants that have viable prospects.

The minister also said Ottawa is open to a new fiscal stimulus package to try to stave off a recession.

The federal government has been under increasing pressure since the conclusion of the election campaign in mid-October to act more aggressively in dealing with the global financial crisis and sharply deteriorating economy.

It has responded by agreeing to buy up $25 billion in bank-held mortgages in an effort to inject liquidity in the system.

But the auto sector and a broad coalition of industries have separately asked Ottawa for a similar response, saying they need loan guarantees to secure sufficient credit to ride out the storm.

As well, Harper is expected to push for progress towards establishment of a national securities regulator.

The federal government recently announcement it will cap the growth of annual equalization payments to have-not provinces.

Ontario, with its manufacturing sector taking a beating, will join the ranks of the have-nots for the first time next year.