Mr. Speaker, the whole income trust debacle is such a weird, gripping tale that it has made terms such as “dividend, tax credit, market cap and finance minister” almost part of the pop culture, as in the sentence, “Yes, my parents gave me my dividend tax credit which really helps my market cap, so I should be able to go to the show tonight unless I somehow get it all finance ministered up”.
Just when we thought it could not get any more weird and strange, now the income trust debacle has taken yet another turn, this time toward the RCMP and the Ontario Securities Commission. With published reports saying that large investors may have been tipped off by people in finance, small retail investors are furious and want answers about who knew what when.
The minister's self-serving denials just do not cut it, especially when trading volumes and unit prices shot up just hours before the minister's announcement. On second thought, why does the RCMP not just set up an office right in the PMO so that it can be at the ready for the next Liberal scandal?