Times-Advocate, 1978-11-30, Page 8Tirnes-Advocate, November 30, 19788
Ottawa to blame for tax breaks
Lj By JACK RIDDELL
MPP Huron-Middlesex
The Treasurer of Ontario,
Frank Miller, has conceded
that the effect of Alberta’s
action in providing tax
breaks to oil companies may
not be in the best interests of
all the Provinces, but said
the federal government was
mostly to blame.
He maintained that
Alberta’s move is the result
of its fight with Ottawa over
the allowance of royalties
charged against operating
costs. The Federal Govern
ment has refused to permit
companies to deduct from
federal taxes royalties paid
to Alberta, and that province
has responded by allowing
companies based in Alberta
to deduct royalty payments
on oil and gas productions
from the income on which
they pay provincial taxes.
The Treasurer has stated
that Ontario is not in a
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position to grant such an
incentive.
Shell Canada Ltd. and
Imperial Oil Ltd of Toronto
have established Calgary
based subsidiaries which
will handle their natural
resources activities. General
administration, refining and
marketing will continue to be
the responsibility of the
Toronto head office.
Gulf Oil Canada Ltd. is
also considering whether it
will consolidate some of its
operations in Calgary to take
advantage of the incentives.
When Liberal Leader
Stuart Smith asked the
Treasurer to protect Ontario
against what he called
Alberta’s somewhat un
Canadian attitude” in en
ticing away Toronto based
oil companies, the Treasurer
said he should look to
Ottawa. “I would suggest
that the Federal Govern
ment is trying, perhaps
unsuccessfully, to interfere
with the resource ownership
the provinces currently
have.”
He told the Legislature the
by-product of Alberta’s
action is that it become
profitable for oil companies
to move (sometimes mostly
on paper) their operation
from Ontario.
The Treasurer indicated
that he is sympathetic to the
oil companies, and “if I was
a president I’d do the same
thing.” However, estimates
of revenue lost in cor
poration taxes because of the
move range from $25 million
to $50 million.
Government and op
position members of the
Ontario Legislature’s justice
committee disagreed
sharply on whether former
Ombudsman Arthur
Maloney should be allowed
to cross-examine witnesses
during an investigation into
the controversial phone call
made by former Solicitor-
General George Kerr to a
Crown prosecutor.
The committee has ad
journed until next week
without making a decision.
Mr. Maloney is representing
Mr. Kerr, the former
Solicitor-General, in the
committee’s inquiry in the
propriety of the call to an
assistant Crown attorney
about a court case involving
a constituent.
The Attorney General, Roy
McMurtry, told the Com
mittee that to grant Mr. Kerr
the right to counsel without
allowing the counsel to cross-
examine witnesses is unfair.
“This is a very serious
matter and to suggest that
this is not in the nature of a
trial is absolutely
ludicrous”, he said.
However, Liberal
Margaret Campbell and
NDP’s Patrick Lawlor
argued that giving a lawyer
the right to cross
examination in committee
would in effect turn the
proceedings into a trial.
“When it comes to the
operation of a committee of
the Legislature, we should
not be trying to bring this
into a trial atmosphere . . .
To suggest, in any way,
we’re trying a member of the
Legislature is completely
fallacious.”
Mrs. Campbell, the
Liberal Justice Critic, said
she is concerned primarily
was
the
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I
with whether justice is ap
plied equally to all people
and with whether the ad
ministration of justice
properly protected in
Kerr case. Alf Stong
York Centre) said
Maloney should have
right to advise and assist his
client, but should not be
permitted to cross-examine
witnesses before the com
mittee.
The Provincial Treasurer
has attempted “to outline
our basic fiscal position and
to provide early notice to the
municipalities and
schoolboards of our spending
plans for 1979-80.” He in
dicated that “in the year
prior to Ontario’s initiation
of fiscal restraints in 1974-75,
year over year spending
increases were running at
almost 25 percent.
Mr. Miller asserted that
recent federal budgetary
moves will mean a reduction
of some $400 million in our
revenue next year. He
stressed that theGovernment
is still committed to a
balanced budget and
determined to reach that
goal as soon as it is fiscally
possible . . . “assuming an
annual growth rate in the
range of nine percent in
revenues Ontario will be able
to balance its budget by
1984”.
The Treasurer stated that
members of the municipal
liaison committee have
recommended that im
mediate abandonment of the
“revenue-sharing formula
known as the Edmonton
Commitment and that
transfers of provincial funds
to municipalities in 1979-80
be ‘commensurate with the
rate of growth of provincial
expenditures.’ ”
He advised the Legislature
that the government is
prepared to accept both
these recommendations.
Spending by ministries for
exisiting programs will be
limited to an increase of
about 5 percent in the year
1979-80; increases in transfers
to local governments and
schoolboards will average 5
percent also.
Earlier in the week,
Treasury officials indicated
that the government in
tended to place tight limits
on grant increases. These
grants are for uses ranging
from roads and public
transit to social assistance
and health. Officials said the
limits will be imposed in
“flexible” areas, such as
transportation, culture
recreation and
vironmental protection.
Tradi tionally,
municipalities have been
notified in September about
the size of their grants,
which until last year were
equal to the province’s
growth in revenue.
and
en-
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