House Of Commons In Uproar Over Income Trust Changes

Jim Flaherty made his stunning announcement

The Finance Minister confirmed the Conservatives were going to tax the trusts, because the feds were losing too much money to giant corporations who were using the loophole to duck billions in taxes.

On Wednesday, the Liberals were on the attack over the move, even though all three parties appeared to endorse the idea in principle.

“Lots has changed with income trusts in the past year,” Prime Minister Stephen Harper defends about his government’s flip flop on the issue.  “Including tax holidays for major corporations that this government does not — and will not — support.”

The Tories had promised not to make the move in their election platform.

That was enough for the Grits to come after Harper with both barrels blazing. They accused the Tories of misleading the voters.

“Canadians who voted for the prime minister did so based on a deception,” railed Liberal Leader Bill Graham. “They invested their life savings based on a false promise. Today, thanks to his misrepresentation Canadians are about $25 billion poorer …

“Innocent Canadians are suffering an economic bloodbath today because they believed the prime minister.”

The stock markets lost more than $20 billion in a single day because of the change.

“(It’s) a betrayal of investors who mistakenly took this minister and this government at their word,” Grit MP John McCallum charges. “It’s the single biggest blow to Canadians’ wealth ever dealt by a finance minister, in a banana republic process bringing disrepute to Canadian capital markets.”

Still, none of them could deny the move was needed and they seemed more upset about broken promises than the amount of money the new rules will take out of the pockets of Canadians.

The NDP praised the switch, while still getting in a shot at their opponents.

“Despite the fact that the income-trust announcement  … is a flip-flop that could only make a Liberal proud, it is an important direction for everyday working families,” remarked Winnipeg MP Judy Wasylycia-Leis.

“The finance minister has set an important precedent by closing this tax loophole. As he said … income trusts are a growing trend to corporate tax avoidance.”

There were even unfounded allegations that a leak allowed some people to profit from the change.

Harper flatly denied the charge, noting security was tight when selected staffers were told about the policy shift.

The scene was like something right out of a spy movie.

“We need all your electronic devices,” a black-clad security guard told Tory members as they arrived to hear a ‘special announcement’ late Tuesday afternoon. “BlackBerrys, cell phones, all your electronic devices.”

When one staffer protested, the man in black was gruff. “You can’t go into that meeting with your BlackBerry,” he made clear.

When the Liberals attempted the same move during their tenure, it turned into a major disaster, leading to allegations of insider trading and an RCMP probe.

The Tories were determined to ensure history didn’t repeat itself.

“The RCMP are not investigating my Department of Finance. They’re investigating your Department of Finance,” Flaherty yelled during Question Period tauntings Wednesday. “There were no leaks, there were no e-mails, there were no deals with friends on Bay Street. There was confidentiality.”

And on Bay St., there were huge losses. For more on that, click here.