Insider trading complements
Liberal record: NDP
Finance critic talks about Liberal
Corruption
TESSA VANDERHART STAFF
Concerns about insider trading have hurt the Liberal party’s campaign, according to NDP finance critic Judy Wasylycia-Leis.
The RCMP are investigating Finance Minister Ralph Goodale and his department for possibly leaking information about a critical announcement for the business community, right before the fall of the government.
Speculation that there was a leak stems largely from the frenzy of trading in income trusts in the hours leading up to Goodale’s November 23 announcement that the trusts would not be taxed. The announcement, a boon to investors regardless of the investigation, continues to be a major election issue.
“It’s the Liberals’ own doing that this issue is significant and it won’t go away. And the fact that it has become a major election issue is a result of Liberal ineptitude — either ineptiude or deliberate attempts to obfuscate, and keep people off the track,” she said.
Preceding answers from the RCMP, she said that the potential that the department of finance leaked information about Goodale’s decision to cut taxes on income trusts makes Canadians suspicious.
“Maybe there is something there, after all, if you go to this length to divert attention away from the issues,” she said.
She wrote a letter to the RCMP in November to express concern that not enough was being done to investigate. The response from RCMP Commissioner Guiliano Zaccardelli, which came on December 28, indicated that Goodale was under criminal investigation. Investigation into the department of finance is ongoing.
“I’m still not convinced at all that there was an illegal leak, but there’s still that possibility,” she said.
Wasylycia-Leis said that Goodale need not resign, but should step aside as finance minister while the department is under investigation. Her reason, she said, is less because of precedent than the concern that the minister, as “CFO of the country,” should be held accountable.
“Until they can get to the bottom of it, it makes sense for the minister who is in charge, who is supposed to be responsible, to step aside,” said Wasylycia-Leis.
Wasylycia-Leis said that the New Democrats supported the September announcement that the use of income trusts by the federal government would be re-examined, and possibly discontinued. She added that income trusts benefit investors but not ordinary Canadians.
She links Goodale’s elimination of taxes on income trusts to pressure from the business community on the federal government: “Probably Paul Martin said to Ralph, ‘Fix this issue, we don’t want to go into an election with this issue.’”
But, she noted, it remains an issue, with the federal election only weeks away.
“Never mind the insider trading, it was still a stupid move,” she said. Along with cutting taxes on income trusts, the November announcement lowered the taxes on dividend-paying stocks.
“Everything they started out to do, they’ve done a 360, and caused themselves this insider trading problem on top of it,” said Wasylycia-Leis.
“It’s just a huge disaster: it’s a disaster in terms of public policy, from the point of view of giving a freebie to the corporate world and not looking at this as a source of lost revenue . . . and it’s a disaster from the point of view of ethics, and the possibility of corruption in government.”
Incumbent Liberal MP Reg Alcock, president of the Treasury Board, said that he was not included in the close circle of the finance department that knew about the announcement.
“This is absolute nonsense, frankly: this is the NDP considering the polls, running around and trying to slander Ralph Goodale.
“Goodale is considered one of the most ethical members of parliament; this is just nonsense,” he said.
