Kinder Morgan reported in talks on $6.8B Trans Mountain pipeline financing + MORE Feb 17th

If you’re like many Canadians, you’re hoping you’ve paid enough tax for 2016 and may even be looking forward to a hefty tax refund cheque. You can help ensure that happens by knowing the details of your Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP), what sets them apart, your contribution limit and a whole slew of other things. Here are the basics:
What’s an RRSP
An RRSP is a retirement savings plan that you open at a bank or other financial institution near you. It’s registered by the federal government of Canada, and you can contribute to it up to an annual maximum amount.
What’s special about RRSPs
Contributions to RRSPs are deductible, meaning they can be used to reduce your taxes. Any income you earn in the RRSP is usually exempt from tax as long as the funds remain in the plan; you generally have to pay tax when you withdraw money from the account.

Ten RRSP questions answered »

Who can open an RRSP
If you have earned income, have a social insurance number and have filed a tax return, you can contribute to an RRSP up until December 31 of the year your spouse turns 71…

Kinder Morgan Inc. has begun talks with institutional investors including major Canadian pension funds and private equity firms to raise capital for the $6.8 billion expansion of its Trans Mountain pipeline project, according to people familiar with the process.

CALGARY — A small green power company says it has closed a deal to buy a half-built oilsands power plant in northern Alberta halted 16 months ago by international oil giant Royal Dutch Shell.
Kineticor Resource Corp. says it has partnered with Ontario pension fund OPTrust to buy the 690-megawatt plant, one of the remaining vestiges of an Alberta oilsands building boom stalled by crashing global oil prices and doubts about pipeline access to markets.
CEO Andrew Plaunt says Kineticor plans to finish and repurpose the facility, which will use natural gas, as a standalone power plant to help replace coal power that the province has vowed to phase out by 2030.
The Calgary-based company says OPTrust _ the pension plan for unionized Ontario public sector and Crown employees, with $18 billion in assets _ has agreed to invest $125 million in Kineticor.
Neither Shell nor Kineticor would provide a price or other details of the agreement. A spokesman for Kineticor wouldn’t say when construction to complete the facility is expected to begin…

The Canada Revenue Agency starts accepting 2016 tax returns on February 20. It marks the official start of the Canadian tax season. T4 slips are due to be sent from employers by the end of the month, and you should already be receiving RRSP slips (though some investment slips are not distributed until mid-March).

Every year there are changes to your tax return, and the 2016 tax period is no different. Several credits have either been removed or are being phased out as a result of last year’s federal budget, and there are new credits available. The biggest changes have probably been to the tax brackets, but you won’t necessarily see a difference on your return. Your payroll department would have made the appropriate adjustments at the beginning of the year.

(Photo: Ljuuba Photo via Getty Images)

This is the last year parents will be able to claim the Children’s Fitness Credit and Children’s Arts Credit. While these credits seemed to have the best intentions behind them when they were introduced — just try to get kids active and interested in the arts — they tended to really only be beneficial if you had sufficient income to claim them…