SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 3, CANMORE DEMONSTRATION CANCELLED — I just got word from OutragedCanadian:
I highly recommend that you don’t try driving to Canmore tomorrow morning. Roads were not good this evening, and it’s still snowing like crazy on the highway. Very slick and not good vision.
IRSCompliantForever said Any possibility of a few “no to FATCA” signs outside the Oct 31- Nov 2 Conservative Convention in Calgary?
Also, does anyone know of any delegate who might be willing to ask an anti-FATCA question or try to obtain support at the convention for an anti-FATCA policy? There will be sessions on taxation, constitution, and policies. Going to Calgary for the Tory Convention — Know Anyone Who Is?
The Conservative Convention takes place at the BMO Centre on the Stampede Grounds, private property, so we cannot get up close and personal with delegates.
(I will have FATCA Facts and Q-121 hand-outs — and more will be in my car which will be parked as close to where we’ll be. And now, in fact, I have tons left — I had printed too many!)
FRIDAY EVENING UPDATE:
Friday, November 1: 10:00 a.m. See summary of the day below, Comment re Friday Two-Women FATCA Protest, Calgary, AB. A worthwhile day for two, at the end, frozen-through gals with a message.
Saturday, November 2: As there is no one who able to help out tomorrow, I am not going out — there is a heavy snowfall warning for Calgary. If road conditions are reasonable on Sunday morning, I’ll drive to Canmore to stand with Outraged — the Conservatives visiting Canmore will say — “There they are again — those two FATCA ladies. We’re being stalked.”
calgary411 says
October 23, 2013 at 4:34 pm
I’m game if I am not alone. Who is in or near Calgary?
Proviso: I am a 70-year old Canadian “grandma” who objects. I have a physical constraint so need company of others from Calgary who will stand up to the US. If there are those who will join me, I will look into permit required, details: how far away we need to be from BMO Centre on Calgary Stampede grounds, print hand-outs.
October 23, 2013 at 8:24 pm
WhiteKat says:
@Calgary,
Another protest, this time in Calgary, is a great idea. We need to show the government that we are everywhere, not just in Ottawa, and that we are not going to stop putting the pressure on. Perhaps you could create a separate post inviting people to join, otherwise your suggestion will get lost in the comments.
I agree, two is enough to make a difference!
I hope you find someone to join you Calgary411.
Thanks, bubblebustin.
I simply cannot do it by myself. One would think that in a city with a ‘supposed’ US citizen number of 83,000 (as given to me in conversation with my MP’s office — what do I know?), there would be someone other than me.
@Calgary411
Why don’t you contact YogaGirl or Kermit to see if they can find someone on the Americans in Canada Facebook group to join you? I’ve been blocked from their group several months ago, but perhaps they are growing more receptive to dealing with tax issues now.
@Calgary411,
Ask Atticus. She’ll go anywhere! Just kidding. 🙂
I know what you mean though. I would not have gone by myself either. One person might look a little strange, but two will get serious attention. I hope at least one more person will join you!!
I am near Calgary. I will support you and a protest. I know there are other Brockers in/near Calgary as I have met some at other venues. I am available on the Friday or Saturday. Not sure what times work better (which day/days were you thinking?) for you but I will be there and call some of my friends (not all of them are Brockers) and see who I can get there. YAY!
Thanks for stepping up to help, BorninCanada,
I think Friday and Saturday would be opportune times. I would like to be there as delegates are entering the BMO Centre, however far away we need to be. I will check today on how doable, logistics, permits, etc. and report here.
Thanks for the suggestion, bubblebustin!
Thanks, WhiteKat. LOL for sure. Having either of you here, anyone who has already done this, would be fantastic but, I know, not possible logistically.
Calgary411, my guess is that most Americans in your city have no idea yet about FATCA or they believe that they have the compliance thing under control.
My husband works in the hydrocarbons industry and knows many people who are either duals or have dual children b/c they were working in the States when their children were born. Because they work for big multinational companies, they have some idea about the tax issues and reporting. (My husband’s company actually supplies accountants during tax time to its employees when they are working out of the country – it’s one of the perks, which I imagine is an industry wide thing.) They simply don’t understand the magnitude of the issue in terms of the cost of FATCA to the entire Canadian population or the threat to privacy.
I also am beginning to think that given the amount of business that Albertans conduct with or through the US, the IRS stuff is factored into the cost of business and people who are making the kind of money some of these people are (even regular skilled workers up in Fort Mac are making just stupid crazy amounts of it), they just shrug it off. For the moment anyway, this is not hurting them enough to make them dig a bit deeper or care much about folks for whom this is a ruinous issue.
What day are you planning for? The only possible for me to come down would be Friday but it’s a PD day and my daughter is off school. I think I could find the Stampede Grounds (we usually avoid downtown Calgary and I never drive when we are there), and the forecast is still relatively snow free but I have to talk more about it with my husband first. Although in my husband-less days I drove all over God’s creation by myself, he doesn’t think I did it very well and he doesn’t trust my big city driving at all (only the latter has any real merit).
Oh, one more thing. I joined the Liberal Party not long ago and I got an email for JT (they send out this emails about once a week-ish and I get a giggle out of seeing mail from Justin Trudeau in my inbox) going on about upcoming stuff. The Liberal Convention is in Montreal this February and I will supposedly be invited to a meeting in my local riding to decide who will be sent as a delegate. So I will actually know the delegate!
I am not hopeful about the Liberals and FATCA though. I can access there message board community now and they yammer on there about tax havens and tax cheats and talk about absurd amounts of money that Canada is supposedly losing to offshore accounts.
Interestingly however, they believe that the Harper govt facilitates tax cheats and encourages this. On that same note, someone posted that Ontario was a haven for drug lords?
Anyway, it’s all very partisan. Sir John A would not approve.
Calgary411, I will post a notice on FB. I haven’t been banned from the page there … yet.
I agree with WhiteKat and feel that even two protesters with a single sign would be sufficient to make the point to the Calgary convention and (with luck) to the press.
Related Convention thought: If your MP is Conservative (as is mine) there is the likelihood that he/she will be attending the convention as an “automatic” delegate.
You might then send soon an e-mail 1) asking your Conservative MP rep to bring up the FATCA issue during one of the policies sessions; and 2) insist that the rep advocate at the session that as part of Conservative Party policy no FATCA-related agreement will be established with US that violates any rights of Canadians.
In my email I will also ask my MP to take Flaherty aside at the convention and have a chat re-iterating FATCA concerns etc…
Thank you, YogaGirl and IRSCompliantForever,
I am about to send an email to my MP’s (Michelle Rempel) office as a start to find out what the process is / who to contact regarding a permit to be able to protest outside the Conservative Convention — and just where we can assemble. My thought is that the start on Friday is a good time to be visable to those going into meetings. I will be available for Friday and Saturday.
I, too, believe that those in Calgary and Alberta are not aware of how FATCA will affect them. Some will be ostriches; some will think they are in full compliance. They need to be more aware as we get closer to the signing of a FATCA IGA to waive our segment’s rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms — and our banks becoming effective arms of the IRS.
In my email, I will also ask my Conservative MP to:
1) to bring up the FATCA issue during one of the policies sessions; and
2) insist that the rep advocate at the session that as part of Conservative Party policy no FATCA-related agreement will be established with US that violates any rights of Canadians.
I, too, will also ask my MP to take Finance Minister Flaherty aside at the convention and have a chat re-iterating FATCA concerns etc…
Thank you both for this help!
good luck calgary 411. London Brockers will be there in spirit with you.
Wow! Calgary! All you need is one other person if you don’t want to do it alone. If you don’t get one other person for a protest then you could just hand out flyers that day. That’s not exactly protesting and you’d be able to still have an action going on that day!
Thank you for deciding to do this!
@bubblebustin,nope I cannot go to this one. I think my spouse will draw the line at plane tickets!
I’ve sent an email to my MP, Michelle Rempel. I’ve also contacted the City of Calgary to get details on what procedures to follow and had a reply back from the City of Calgary Police while I was taking my dog for a walk (wouldn’t you know it?). Waiting for another call back.
From IRSCompliantForever:
Awesome response from City of Calgary and Calgary Police!
1. No permit is required.
2. BMO Centre, location of Conservative Convention, is on the Stampede Grounds, which is private property.
3. Demonstrations are not allowed on private property.
4. There will be MANY demonstrations during the Conservative Convention; i.e. First Nations, Abortion, Environmental Issues, etc.
5. Suggestion of two locations nearest the BMO Centre:
BEST LOCATION: large grass area on Macleod Trail between 15th Avenue and 14th Avenue (opposite LRT station, Victoria Park. (Parking lot next to the grass is not OK.) Visibility from across the street for anyone arriving by train. Visibility for Macleod Trail traffic — one of the busiest arteries for rush-hour traffic.
OTHER OPTION: north side Stamped Grounds, south side of 12th Avenue on sidewalk (between Macleod Trail and 3rd Street SW). Disadvantage: less visibility, less traffic going by, huge parking lot on Stampede Grounds between 12th Avenue and the actual BMO Centre (but more room to protest).
I have City of Calgary Police Department contact name and number for any other questions or any difficulties. Good luck in our efforts.
@Calgary411,
Don’t worry. Protesting is easy. You just stand there with your sign, and talk to people who are interested in learning more, and give out fact sheets. You are a FATCA expert so it will be easy for you to talk about it. You might want to think ahead of time about how you would answer general questions like: “What is FATCA?”, “Why do I care, I am not American?”, etc.
We had a couple comments at the last protest about our current Fact Sheet being too long, and not Canadian specific (ex. there were references to ACA for example). I am planning to spend some time to condense, and Canadianize it a bit, and then will post it on Brock to see what people think.
Thanks for some of the questions you got and we can anticipate. (I’m not a FATCA expert by any means, but I’ve learned a lot from this chapter of my ‘school of hard knocks.’)
I’ll / we’ll look forward to your revamp draft of the FATCA Fact Sheet — there should likely be a Canadian specific version, as for other country specific country versions that folks could alter to suit their audiences. I think we do need to keep the core messages for each version consistent.
Calgary411 If you are there on the Friday or Saturday I can be there with you – and my wife has said that she will come too. I might be able to get a couple more people to come – I will see what I can do. Also – based on your numerous comments – you’re pretty much a FATCA expert.
Fact Sheets and posters would be very important. I also have a tablet that I could show Youtube videos on – does anyone know or have any that might be short but to the point?
Is it worth contacting the media or do you think that they will just “see us” and come and do interviews?
Is there any more interest than Calgary411 and me? BTW if the moderator wishes to give my email to Calgary411 to email me directly – please do so. We can be a 70 year old “grandma” and mid thirty “myth”buster team.
BorninCanada,
I plan to be there for both Friday and Saturday to catch the early rush-hour going-to-work-downtown traffic and any delegates that may arrive at the Convention site by train (LRT – light rail transit) and to, hopefully, get a good spot. I’ll make a trip there tomorrow so I’ll know exactly where I’m talking about. Signs should be brief with big lettering as I anticipate our audience will be across the street on travelling in their cars for the most part.
I REALLY appreciate your and your wife’s support and any others that would like to join in.
(PS: I have access to your email address as I go in from time to time to remove spam from the site. I will send you an email when I have some more information.)
We will present another visual, like at the tumblr site that Atticus has put up, http://we-are-not-a-myth.tumblr.com/, that we are not MYTHS and have printed information to hand out as well.
Anyone who can take part in either will make our voice stronger. Thanks!
@Calgary411,
I modified the original FATCA handout, based on some feedback from the recent Ottawa protest. I asked pacifica to review it first before we post along with the other versions. Here is the text from the Word document I created:
What is FATCA?
The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) is a U.S. law that directs every financial institution in the world to report to the U.S tax agency (IRS) confidential bank account information on ‘U.S. persons’.
Who is a ‘U.S. person’ living in Canada?
Although you may be a Canadian citizen, you are considered a ‘U.S. person’ for any of the reasons listed below:
• You were born in the U.S.A. even if you left as a young child
• You were born outside the U.S.A. to one or more American parents
• You have a green card
• You regularly visit the U.S.A and meet the substantial presence test
What information will FATCA collect?
FATCA requires all Canadian financial institutions to report annually to the IRS on a variety of everyday bank accounts including details such as bank account balances.
What will the U.S.A. do with all that information?
The vast majority of ‘US persons’ living in Canada, are not aware that USA law requires them to annually submit ‘foreign bank account reports’ (FBAR) detailing bank accounts held outside the USA. Financially devastating penalties calculated as a factor of bank account balance are imposed for failure to submit the FBAR. The IRS will use information it gets from your bank or credit union to verify its FBAR records, so it can calculate penalties. It will also exchange private banking and personal information with other U.S. agencies such as the NSA and the FBI.
But I’m not a ‘U.S. person’. What does FATCA have to do with me?
Your bank will look through your accounts searching for indication that you, or anyone with signing authority, might be a ‘U.S. person’, for example, receiving funds into your account from a U.S. source, or owning vacation property are viewed as ‘connections’ to the U.S. You may be asked to prove that you or anyone else with signing authority, are not ‘U.S. persons’ by providing evidence such as a birth certificate or certificate of lost nationality. Failure to provide proof will be seen as enough evidence that you are a ‘U.S. person’ and will subject you to FATCA reporting.
Why should I care about FATCA? I don’t share accounts with a ‘US person’, and I have no ‘US connections’.
FATCA is extremely expensive for financial institutions and your government to implement and run. It’s foreseeable that the costs of enforcing this extraterritorial law will be passed on to every bank customer in the form of higher bank fees and to every citizen in the form of higher taxes.
Why are the Canadian government, and Canadian financial institutions agreeing to FATCA?
Neither the financial institutions, nor the government want FATCA. They are being pressured to go along with it under threat of 30% withholding of US sourced payments to Canadian financial institutions if they do not agree to implement FATCA. Canadian financial institutions, although they don’t like FATCA are pressuring the Canadian government to sign an ‘Intergovernmental Agreement’ (IGA) to authorize FATCA in Canada.
FATCA is being forced on your government and financial institutions right now, but it can be stopped. Contact your government representative and ask what they’re doing to stop it.
For more information visit these websites: isaacbrocksociety.ca; maplesandbox.ca; repealfatca.com
Thanks for the text, WhiteKat.
FWIW, I would add to:
something like:
That seems to me a positive statement that people can identify with, grab onto and be encouraged to demand their government representatives just that.
@Calgary411,
I like what you say, and was about to add it, BUT we are constrained by space on the 1 page document. It just barely fits now on a single page with some white space around the paragraphs. One of the complaints we got was that there was too much info and not enough white space.
Although, we here at IBS know Canada needs to be a leader, those who are hearing about FATCA for the first time, have enough trouble trying to grasp the complex topic, and our focus for NEWBIES should be to stick to what FATCA means to Canada, I think.
@Calgary,
When the ‘Canadian’ Fatca Fact Sheet gets posted, anyone who uses it will obviously be free to add whatever they like if they can find somewhere to put it. 🙂
Here’s a related policy to protest:
“FINTRAC collecting too much info on innocent Canadians
Too many files have nothing to do with terrorism or money laundering, privacy commissioner says”
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/fintrac-collecting-too-much-info-on-innocent-canadians-1.2224595
Imagine all the FINTRAC data going to the IRS under a FATCA IGA.