A thank you note to Jack Layton from US Private Equity players and others

Dear Jack Layton, Leader of the NDP:

Upon learning that a recent Environics Poll reveals that 87% of Canadians are opposed to the continued foreign takeover of income trusts made vulnerable to takeover as a result of yours and Jim Flaherty’s absurd policy to tax Canadians twice on the income earned within their RRSPs at the additional rate of 31.5%, but no body else, we the undersigned thought now would be a good time to thank you for creating an artificial situation for we foreigners, in order that we could rip off Canadians for some of their most prized assets known as income trusts, or what we consider “cash cows’.

We are very appreciative of the false set of arbitrary and contrived circumstances that you and the members of your party were able to create for us, using that ruse argument of tax leakage as the means for us to haul off with some of the best companies that exist in Canada and which are now owned by us and which now pay $1.5 billion less in taxes to fund much needed social programs for Canadians and to help deal with Canada’s structural deficit

Yours very truly,

H.E. Hamad Al-Hurr Al-Suwaidi , Chairman, Abu Dhabi Energy (state owned), Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Doo-Yul Hwang, CEO Korean National Oil Company (state owned), Anyang, South Korea

Li Ka Shing, Chairman Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings Limited (CKI), , Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong

Lloyd Blankfein, CEO, Goldman Sachs and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners. New York. New York

DEBRA A. CAFARO, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Ventas, Inc. Chicago, Illinois

Christopher Leslie, Chief Executive Officer of Macquarie Infrastructure Partners, New York, New York

William I. Koch, Chairman, Oxbow Group West Palm Beach, Florida

Jan Castro, Managing Director, Pala Investment Holdings Ltd , Zug, Switzerland

Carlos Britos, CEO, Anheuser-Busch InBev, Leuven Belgium

Philip Falcone, Chief Investment Officer, Harbinger Capital Partners, New York, New York

David Williams, Chairman, Marwyn Capital LLP London, UK

Lee Bragg, CEO Bragg Communications Inc .

Richard Homburg, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer Homburg Invest Inc.

Frederick J. Iseman is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, CI Capital Partners, New York, New York

David S. Clarke, Chairman Macquarie Group Ltd owner of New World Gaming Partners

Christopher W. Beale - Managing Partner, Alinda Capital Partners LLC , New York New York

Richard "Dick" Green President, CEO General Shale Brick Inc., Johnson City, Tennesee

Bragi Ragnarsson, Chairman, Eimskip Holdings Inc. Reykjavik, Iceland

Stephen H. White, President and Chief Executive Officer, Fort Chicago Energy Partners LP

David S. Lobel, Managing Partner Sentinel Capital Partners , New York. New York

Sami Mnaymneh, Managing Partner H.I.G. Capital, LLC , Miami, Florida

Sheldon Elman, MD, Managing Partner, Persistence Capital Partners LP

Bernie Buonanno, Managing Partner, Nautic Partners, Providence, Rhode Island

Sam K. Reed, Chairman and CEO TreeHouse Foods Inc., Westchester, Illinois

William E. Morris, CEO South Coast Partners LP , Delray Beach, Florida

Jerry M. Meyer, Chief Operating Officer FrontFour Capital Group LLC, Stamford, CT

Others who were attending the Olympics in Vancouver, and who were unavailable to sign this letter but who wish to convey to you their thanks as well:

TorQuest Partners

PSPIB/Overlord Financial

Birch Hill Equity Partners Management Inc.

Centre Partners Management, LLC

Andlauer Management Group Inc.

InnVest REIT, Caisse de depot

British Columbia Investment Management Corporation

OMERS Capital Partners

Behringer Harvard REIT

Spectra Energy Corp (SE: NYSE)

Sherritt International (TSX: S)

FPL Energy, LLC

FrontFour Capital Group LLC

Teck Cominco Limited (TCK.B)

Andlauer Management Group Inc.

CS Acquisition Limited Partnership (going private)

Borealis Infrastructure Management Inc. (OMERS)

Centre Partners Management, LLC