OTTAWA -- Finance Minister Ralph Goodale said his office did not leak details of this week's dividend tax credit increase before it occurred, calling any suggestion that this took place "a complete falsehood."
He was answering media questions on whether staff gave anyone a heads-up on the tax measure, which is aimed at reducing the advantage that income trusts have held over corporate dividends.
Mr. Goodale said any runup in trading before the 6 p.m. Wednesday announcement was unrelated to the conduct of federal officials. "That has nothing to do whatsoever with any behaviour or conduct on the part of my office. We are always very careful and very discreet and there was no leak and there was no kind of advanced information."
Trust unit values rose Wednesday in advance of the announcement, suggesting some investors had already determined Ottawa would not impose a tax on trusts.
Conservative finance critic Monte Solberg called for an probe into the lead-up to the announcement. "We don't know exactly what happened . . . but we know the government was rushing to get this done ahead of an election call. When you have that combination, it's easy for things to get screwed up."
The minister said he did not think there should be an investigation "because there's nothing to investigate." However, John Embury, spokesman for Mr. Goodale, said his minister would co-operate with an independent investigation if one took place. "Should the independent securities regulator decide to investigate this matter we will co-operate fully because we are confident that they will find that all the proper steps were followed."
A spokesman for the Office of the Ethics Commissioner in Ottawa said the matter does not appear to fall under its mandate, which includes probing conflicts of interest.
The Globe and Mail reported that Mr. Goodale's office was calling the country's largest pension fund managers Monday night floating elements of proposed action on trusts. Other reports have speculated that confirmation of a dividend tax credit increase was leaked ahead of time, fuelling trading.
The Ontario Securities Commission said it can't comment "at all" on whether it's investigating trading that took place Wednesday. "Obviously we monitor the markets very closely, but beyond that we can't comment," spokeswoman Wendy Dey said.
© The Globe and Mail
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