The Rural Voice, 1982-04, Page 18Huron M.P. dinner:
Foreign ownership escalating
BY STEPHANIE LEVESQUE
Absentee foreign ownership is worse
than it appears MPP Jack Riddell
(L -Huron -Middlesex) charged at the
annual members of parliament dinner
held at Clinton Feb. 27. The meeting was
sponsored by the Huron Federation of
Agriculture.
Mr. Riddell said some absentee owners
can evade a special tax for such owners
by being a numbered Ontario corpora-
tion.
Mr. Riddell was one of five members of
parliament who heard briefs from various
agriculture groups. MPP Bob Eaton
(PC -Middlesex) said there is now legisla-
tion which taxes corporations having 25
per cent or more foreign ownership.
The MPP from Huron -Middlesex
countered that the tax is being evaded
because some of the corporations are
numbered Ontario corporations. Mr.
Eaton said numbered corporations also
have to pay a tax.
"They're very shrewd people." said
Mr. Riddell.
MPP Donald McDonald (NDP -York
South) agreed with Mr. Riddell. He said
some people hiding behind a numbered
corporation are breaking the law and will
eventually be caught.
The federation's absentee foreign
ownership committee stated, "informa-
tion given us indicates absentee foreign
investors have increased their holdings
from 320 acres to over 2.300 acres in
Morris Township this past year and from
zero to 1,100 acres in East Wawanosh
Townsh ip."
Morris Reeve William Elston said he
could see it being difficult for the
township to do business in such matters
as drains. He also recognized that the
purchase of some of the land in his
township helped four farmers start over
again.
Talk of corporations offering to lease
back land to the previous owner
prompted one young farmer to say five
generations ago his ancestors had left
Europe to escape the feudal system. Mr.
Riddell agreed, saying the system is like
tenant farming.
Mr. Eaton challenged Mr. Riddell,
saying if he could provide him with facts
of corporations avoiding absentee foreign
ownership tax he would chase them
down. Mr. Eaton said there are a lot of
rumo rs of absentee foreign ownership.
but some of these could be absentee
Ontario owners.
Federation president Gerry Fortune
made it clear the organization is not
against landed immigrants taking up
farming.
The federation's committee brief
stated: "we are deeply concerned that a
continued increase in absentee foreign
ownership will force us to abandon our
traditional 'family' or owner -operated
type of agriculture."
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PG. 16 THE RURAL VOICE/APRIL 1982
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