All things Canadian.....

The first phone calls started Monday evening.
Earlier that day, Liberal officials had huddled in Ottawa to hammer out a new tax policy, one they were desperately trying to push out the door before their minority government was toppled. After three hours of debate, they felt they were closing in on a solution that would resonate with voters and at the same time level the playing
field between income trusts and regular companies....
....
The policy was being developed with such haste, however, that John McKay, Mr. Goodale's parliamentary secretary, went on live television shortly before the dividend credit increase was unveiled and mistakenly suggested Ottawa was also implementing a small tax on trusts. Officials said Thursday Mr. McKay was misinformed about “the decision moving forward” and was not “up to date” on Ottawa's plans.
“A whole bunch of options were considered and on the table and at the end of the day they went with one that they figured would put this issue behind them” with an election looming, a senior official said.
Lawyers, financiers and money managers either made the pilgrimage to Ottawa this week or called the Finance Department to give their two cents on the trust policy.
“It makes the bank merger lobby, or the lobby to let banks into insurance, look like the Girl Guides or the Boy Scouts,” said a financial official close to the lobbying.