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!
@Calgary411 and all that are going to protest tomorrow.. We are all proud of you, and thank you very much!!
Wishing you all the best!! Have a Great Day!!
@Calgary411, OutragedCanadian, and all others who can make it out to the Calgary protest over the next few days,
Best wishes for a successful protest! Make sure you go to bed early so you will be well rested tomorrow!
From their schedule:
On Sunday, guests are welcome to tour/sightsee in Banff, with the option to purchase a discounted ticket to ride the Sulphur Mountain Gondola for $20.
Following this, guests will be transported to the Rocky Mountain town of Canmore for a tour and lunch at the award winning Grizzly Paw Brewing Company”
12:00PM-2:30 PM – Delegates tour the award winning Grizzly Paw Brewing Company, as well as have lunch in Canmore at Iron Goat Grill.
Maybe I should just wait until Sunday and picket on main street in front of the Grizzly Paw!!!!
That’s only about a block from my place. Hey Calgary411, feel like driving out to Canmore for the day? Or anyone else?
Outraged,
I’ll come to Canmore — if you come to Calgary.
Maybe this will help get Calgary area Brockers into a protesting mood.
@Calgary, I’ma comin’ to Calgary. With my signs and my Canadian flags. No cowboy hat though.
@WhiteKat – love it!
Maybe we can dress western and sneak into the Stampede Grounds.
Thanks for the inspiration, WhiteKat and Em — and the good wishes from everyone!!! We’ll do the best we can against the Conservatives that want to be fenced off from the pesky demonstrators.
@Em, yes, sorry, thought I already mentioned yours, but see I didn’t.
And I echo Calgary’s thanks for the inspiration and good wishes from people. The idea of putting myself out there in public kind of gives me heart palpitations, so encouragement is needed!
Thanks, WhiteKat.
It will likely just be me tomorrow — but it would be great if some others come out. I think the bigger group (whatever that will be) will be on Friday. (Tomorrow I’ll be at the site sometime before noon.)
To all of you going,
Dress warm, wear your cowboy boots, carry those Canadian flags and give out your flyers with big smiles.
If you could have Kid Rock , Tom Petty and the Guess Who playing “our songs”” all the better. Those smiles will win them over.
I will be looking to hear all about it.
@Calgary and everybody
Thank you so very much for your efforts. I wish I was there with you. I sent an email to my MP John Weston, hoping he’ll drop by and say hello.
I suppose with all the heat they’ve been taking in the House, they’ll welcome being surrounded by their own, although some cracks might be appearing there too.
Take care today @calgary411, and others!
Grateful for your efforts.
I’ll be solo today starting at noon, flying by the seat of my pants. (I may be flying as there will be good Chinook winds, but a high of 8C.) I hope I garner some interest with my sign and my hand-outs and that I somehow find public washroom facilities (which happens to be my biggest concern).
Tomorrow, Outraged Canadian will making a hour drive into Calgary and then taking the train to where we’ll meet across from the Stampede Grounds — by 8:00 am for me. Outraged is a “for sure” and I sure hope some others will decide to show up to “voice” their NO to FATCA. I’ll go out again on Saturday morning if any would like to join in. On Sunday, I’ll drive to Canmore for a mini-demonstration with Outraged at an off-site event for Conservatives that wish the outing.
Wish you could all be here in person, but rest assured I’ve valued your online comments of encouragement. I’ll do what I can do.
@ Calgar411
Good luck. Wish I coul join you. I hope you can recruit some new brockers.
@ Calgary411
Bless you and good luck!
Hope the weather holds – snow is forecast for Saturday.
Handing out leaflets at Bear Paw Pub in Canmore is a great idea! It’s very accessible, right on main street and there are usually LOTS of people sauntering around. Anytime I’ve been to Canmore it seems there are many American tourists as well and they are usually very friendly and chatty.
Wow, Calgary411! We’ll need GPS to track you! Good luck!
HI All,
So I’ve confirmed with the town of Canmore that there is no bylaw restriction. We can’t block the sidewalks or streets (of course), and we have to carry the signs. That’s it.
@Wondering, I’m truly hoping we get people asking about this. I don’t have a lot of high hopes from the politicians, but I do have high hopes that this will be an opportunity to inform and educate people on what could happen in our country that it affects all Canadians.
Gotta love small towns, the nice fellow I spoke with said he hoped we have a fantastic time and that he’s going to try and come down to see what we’re doing!
@Outraged Canadian
This is exciting. You just may make a lot more people aware of FATCA and maybe those that should be aware for their own personal need.
Good Luck.
A joke Obama seeks inward investment into the US with FATCA.
http://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/obama-pitches-foreign-investment-generate-185017283.html
Thursday, October 31 Report: I was at the spot suggested by Calgary Police Service, across the street from Victoria Park / Stampede LRT Station (west side of northbound Macleod Trail) by myself for about an hour — talked to one man who passed and came back wanting information. He had lived in the US at one time and two of his kids were born in the US — not aware of anything!
NOT BEST LOCATION. Better on 12th Avenue — stay on Stampede Grounds (east) side and turn right from Macleod Trail onto 12th. That is where there were demonstration of many hues. I then proceeded downtown across the street from the Hyatt Hotel and near the company I worked for, then in front on Bankers Hall. Finally back to 12th Ave SE demonstration area.
Downtown, interestingly I talked for some time to a banker from Ireland who was on vacation. He said he has and will be doing when he gets back FATCA related work. He wanted to know how it impacted my family. He was very knowledgeable and understanding and agreed that the US was a bully. He very much agreed about the reciprocity scam! That was while I was outside the Hyatt Hotel downtown, where I also ran into two former co-workers from the company I worked at, one an executive — he said that his son was dating a girl that was born in the US. The other someone I worked with in Finance. Long chat with both and gave them info, saying that many at Encana would be affected by this. Both agreed. Talked to several others on that corner, but no delegates. The few I saw gave me a sidewards glance and then hurried on. They are pretty sheltered on the Grounds and lots of police presence. One Conservative getting into a limo just behind us said he’d be back to see us tomorrow (the whole group), whatever that’s about. Lots of honks on 12th Avenue. Some knowing smiles and one thumbs up outside Bankers Hall.
That’s all, folks Time to go get some supper.
PS before I go: Lots of media types took pictures of my homemade NO USA FATCA sign and I handed out information to media. The only ones that I recognized were CBC. Another (maybe from the Calgary Herald, I don’t know said we should get our point across in many fewer words — but no one else mentioned that). The Raging Grannies were there — they are GOOD!
Thanks calgary411. Eat, sleep and be very … aware that we all appreciate what you are doing. Back to watching for trick or treaters.
@Calgary411,
Thanks for the update! You must be zonked after all that walking around! You made contact with a quite a few people, and the media. That’s great!
Interesting comment from the one media guy re:using fewer words, I presume he meant the FACT Sheet. That is something that has bothered me also. Maybe a shorter version of the facts with JUST a few highlighted points would help convey the message. I could take a first stab. Possibly we could put it on the other side of the FACT sheet, so highlights would be on one side and details (the current FACT sheet) on the other. Media guys are always looking for SHORT facts, and don’t want to have to deduce it from a full page of writing. Actually same is true for most people who otherwise don’t want to hear about some new USA law that likely (in their minds anyway) doesn’t affect them.
Anyhow, thank you so much for being the lone Brocker out there today! I’m glad you will have company tomorrow and the next day!
I actually told the media guy what I thought of modern-day journalism and their sound bytes that never effectively tell the whole story, especially one as complex as FATCA.
I may skip the Saturday, depending on how many delegates we get close to and some kind of interest shown tomorrow (by them). It was bloody cold out there today with the wind. The shade of the high rises all around and the wind tunnels they provide made it seem colder, I’m sure. It was good to be able to walk about rather than stay in one place. Just before I left, they announced that veggie chilli was being served for anyone who wanted it in an adjacent parking lot. It was a good size group of camaraderie and much against Harper gathered there. There were people from adjoining towns and out of province too.
DRESS WARM whatever winter or approaching winter protests out there!
Calgary I am late getting to this and I hope you are having a great sleep right now. THANK YOU SO MUCH!
@ Calgary411
You were amazing. You connected with a lot of people today. In particular the man who has 2 kids born in the states. You probably brought a new reality for him to deal with.
The whirlpool effect is happening. Ripple after ripple the truth of FATCA is being made known to more people with the help of hard working determined people like you.
I can imagine how cold it was. Did yo wear your Long underwear and warm socks and boots?
I hate cold. I dress very warm all times and will for toronto’s protests. I may get those heated socks and mitts.
Wishing you lots of good connections tomorrow. Keep warm.
Rest now. You deserve it.