Confirmation has been provided by the official Department of Finance contact in regard to the Consultation Paper: The submissions in response to the Paper will indeed be published as planned.

Mr. Denis Normand said in a phone call today, that it would take some time to fully verify personal contact details for those individuals and organizations that made a submission and provided a request or approval for publication of it. Such verification was required before submissions could be published.

The original Framework for the Consultation process indicated that submissions would be published.  And subsequent reports from Ottawa suggested that publication of Consultation findings would happen after December 31.

The Consultation process was cut short with Finance Minister Ralph Goodale’s announcement, last week, that he had decided to impose no new taxes on income trusts. It was not clear whether “cancellation” of the process meant that the government was avoiding publication of submissions.

Members of the iTrustInstitute called to ask as we have interest in reviewing, analyzing and summarizing the Consultation findings.  We saw merit in the Consultation process as a means to promote public participation in and enhance understanding of significant policy questions. The process was as a means for the government to gather expert insight and public perceptions useful in addressing complex issues in a fair and thoughtful manner and so to inform policy formulation.

It now appears that we will have some view of Consultation submissions, likely early in the New Year, as originally envisioned by the Consultation Paper.