The iTrustInstitute is launching its roundtable program to bring together experts, industry leaders and investors from all sides of the market. This year, participants will discuss the Department of Finance Consultation Paper on Flow-through Entities including income trusts.

The roundtable will take place on December 14 at the Toronto Stock Exchange conference center in downtown Toronto.

Experts in the areas of investment, taxation, business, finance and economics will address questions and consider new issues raised by the consultation paper. The government has solicited the views of Canadians on key questions related to retirement savings, tax, the merits of corporations and trust securities, productivity and growth.

The uncertainty surrounding the future of income trusts has been partially responsible for the recent precipitous decline in value of this sector in the market amounting to over more than $20 billion dollars by some estimates.

The iTrustInstitute says this turmoil was a key catalyst for the institute to bring together all sides to gain meaningful insight on controversial topics.

Government officials have said that they can attend the roundtable. The Iistitute will also record the day and summarize findings for presentation to the government.

The Roundtable Agenda is available online and will be updated as additional speakers and participants are confirmed.

As an open and inclusive exchange of diverse perspective and analysis, the Roundtable is the only event of this quality and magnitude being held in Canada.

Leslie Hayman, co-founder of iTrustInstitute and publisher of TrustInvestor.com said, “We look forward to sharing prescient answers and developing new insights useful for informed policy making. This is where Bay Street meets Main Street. People realize that the consequences of government policies touch retirement savings as well as capital market dynamics and values.”

She added, “This is not about politics. This is about creating a stable exchange where there’s an attractive destination for investors and public equity issuers. We see opportunity to study income and trust principles. We can develop an efficient capital market that supports improved productivity and real growth. It’s of potential benefit to all Canadians.”

The iTrustInstitute is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing the understanding and contribution by income trusts and flow-through securities to productivity and economic growth in Canada.