Want to get to the bottom of the BC Government's give-a-way of BC Rail. Kevin Potvin has this column at the Vancouver Courier. This deal has been shrouded in top secret dealings where only a few are privy to the real deal. This could be the first time a crown corporation has ever been sold in Canada and the owners, that would be you and me, know nothing of the deal.
Noted Vancouver columnist Kevin Potvin asks some serious questions ...
... CN paid the government $750 million for B.C. Rail's operating concession and rolling stock-probably a fair price. But it paid the government a further $250 million for B.C. Rail's tax books-books that might be worth up to $5 billion. Here is the whiff of real scandal-the largest financial scandal in Canadian history.
In the wake of the deal and the public outcry that erupted, the Liberal government hired the private accounting firm to report on whether the overall $1 billion deal was fair for the people of B.C.
But while the firm was able to study all aspects of the $750 million portion of the deal concerning the lease and operating concessions, it was barred from looking at the $250 million portion dealing with the tax books. There has never been a third-party assessment of this part of the deal.
Huge benefits like those hidden in B.C. Rail's tax books are a common target of privatized government companies around the world, but they are rarely noticed outside tax accounting offices. They are easy enough to understand, however....
Check the whole article out at the Vancouver Courier online.
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