Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor, it must be demanded by the oppressed
~ Martin Luther King Jr.
Please help. Donate to the Canadian Charter Challenge Fund.
February 5, 2014 was the day we thought we would never see. It was the day the Canadian government announced it had caved to a foreign nation’s demands to invade our honest, law abiding lives as Canadian citizens and residents to seize our private and legal financial records. It was the day we learned the Canadian government considers us second class Canadians with limited rights under Canadian laws and Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Today is the day we begin our drive to fight back. February 28, 2014 is the day we launch our Canadian Charter Challenge Fund to raise money for a legal opinion from prominent constitutional lawyer, Joseph Arvay.
We must demand freedom. We must demand our government uphold our rights. We must demand the government place its citizens and residents over the demands of a foreign power.
We must demand our government place our rights over those of the bully oppressor. We must band together to fight for our cherished Canadian rights and freedoms. We must do it now.
Remember, the War of 1812 was not over until 1815. We should likewise expect our battle to be long, messy and expensive.
First published on 28 Feb 2014
@Only a Canadian
I see both sides of the coin. I would hope that the organisers would respond to you privately if requested but I still maintain that it is not sensible to post the information on a public website. No easy answers here, and I hope you receive the information that you are looking for. I look forward to receiving an update of some sort whenever the organisers deem it is appropriate. Let’s be brutally honest here, if these funds cannot be raised from a group that has the passion expressed here, then we at least know that any further effort of this nature is doomed.
The check is in the mail. As I have said before on this site I will be forever grateful for the help I received from everybody here. Thanks again.
@ Only A Canadian I need to say one thing about this effort. I truly ‘trust” the people involved with this fundraising. I trust them far more than I trust the government that threw my family to the enemy. I’ll patiently wait to hear what happens in the future with this challenge and know I, and you and all of us here are standing up instead of being “sheep” Canadians as we seem to be labelled. The fact we must fight our own government who signed a “back door deal” to protect the banks is insane. Where was the “transparency” in this deal? We were lied to, simply put. Now, no more “Sheep”, time to fight with all legal means.
It would be a VERY BAD idea to disclose the amount of the contributions on an ongoing basis. Obviously this initiative is/will be monitored by those in Canada and the U.S. who are unhappy with the prospect of legal action. The information on the progress of fundraising is of value to them. It is of interest to us.
The FAQs make the terms of contribution very clear. Those who are unhappy with those terms should not contribute.
The only thing that matters is whether there are sufficient funds raised. That will be known in due course. If you want to help with this cause then contribute. If you don’t want to help then don’t.
@ Only A Canadian i too can understand why the organizers don’t want to give up numbers.
as well i too have never met any of the organizers and that not withstanding i trust them far more with my money than i do my MP who i have met. at least with this effort there is a real chance for a defeat of fatca rather than my MP ignoring me for 8 emails about it and then his response is that he “is thrilled” that he had a chance to work on bringing fatca to canada.
if over the next couple of weeks it comes out that we are close but need a bit more i will not hesistate to toss in another $100. given the options i would rather spend my discretionary portion of our family budget here and cut out a couple of things for the month.
i really don’t think you have anything to worry about that funds you contribute here are going to be going anywhere but where the organizers have said they will be going to. until proven otherwise they have 110% of my support in anything i can do to further this cause.
I’ve met two of the organizers, and trust them completely.
I concur with @NativeCanadian. I felt lost with nowhere to turn when I found Isaac Brock and Maple Sandbox. Many of the people who continue to fight this battle already have their own situations resolved, but continue to fight this tyranny by the US government that is now aided and abetted by the Canadian government – that benefits me and thousands of others who don’t even know it. The money I send to the government, I have concerns about how it is spent. The money I send here, I am not concerned about. I am personally satisfied that those in charge of these funds are good stewards and have unquestionable integrity.
I have met in person the organizers of this particular effort and would not hesitate in the slightest to donate to this cause. I was not involved with setting up the website nor involved with the collecting of these funds just so you know I am not vouching for something I was an organizer of in this case.
This is the last stand and the most powerful way we have to get the injustices of FATCA out in the light of day for a public debate with perhaps a chance to strike this thing down here. Those in charge of this effort here have worked very hard on their own to move this effort forward. I trust them completely.
We all know the terms. We can only individually know if we think our futures and those of our family are worth this real fight.
It is more than worth it for me not to give up — I’ll fight until there is no more of me.
I will never be able to express how much respect and trust I have for every person behind the scenes doing what they are doing on my behalf and on behalf of my and others’ sons and daughters.
I am not really a Facebook person, though I have an account. Does anyone know how to get exposure for this campaign onto Facebook? Those of us who are willing to reveal our identities could “like” it, which would spread the word.
Maybe someone who understands better how Facebook works might offer a better explanation.
It’s a pity the Conservative government closed down the Court Challenge Programme, which funded court challenges based upon Charter rights.
From the 2006-07 annual report:
“The Court Challenges Program of Canada (CCPC) experienced a major shock during the 2006/2007 fiscal year. Without prior consultation, warning or notice, the Court Challenges Program was eliminated during the Treasury Board’s announcement on September 25, 2006 of the Federal Government’s 2006 Expenditure Review. The main reasons stated for eliminating the Court Challenges Program were that it was ‘wasteful, not effective and did not achieve results’.”
The website still exists:
http://www.ccppcj.ca/e/ccp.shtml
The board members, etc. are listed. I wonder whether it would be useful to contact some of them for ideas on funding. Perhaps there are non-governmental organisations that might be approached.
Actually-this is not just an expat issue. How about getting Allison Christians on board? And other Canadians who see their charter is being compromised?
@Authentic, Thanks for the donation!
@Only and usxcanada, We also don’t like our decision, which was debated, not to post daily updates or to go into detail about what we mean by “strategic reasons” any more than you do — but we will not provide any information that could help the people who want us to fail.
@All,
Yesterday we received a comment pointing out in a very low key manner that we have not taken advantage of including french-speaking Canadians in our effort. He noted that “My Canada fundamentally includes Québec… as much as it fundamentally excludes the US.”
We completely agree, acknowledge, and feel bad about the oversight.
GwEvil tells us that it is possible to come up with a bilingual version of the website. We don’t know how feasible this is in a short time frame (it certainly will happen for Step 2), but is there anyone out there who could help us translate quickly our english version of the website into perfectly idiomatic french? The french version cannot at all be stilted and all points have to be expressed simply. If you can help, please respond on the CCCF website.
Cheque is in the mail. Forever grateful to all those on this site that helped me get out of this mess 2 years ago. The fundraisers have totally earned my trust.
I paid alot, but just a little bit more than it took to renounce!
@Polly: Several people with diverse expertise are involved in this battle in many different ways.
@NervousInvestor : Notwithstanding is always a concern in any Charter challenge. This is an issue which has been raised with Joe Arvay.
It may seem we are trying to withhold information. What we are doing is trying to protect the ability of many different individuals to help in the best way that works for them and to ensure we do not show our hand to the enemy. (I never thought I would see the day I would be calling my Canadian government “our enemy.”)
Full disclosure for those of you who are not aware: Blaze at Brock and Maple Sandbox = Lynne Swanson, one of those involved with establishing the Charter Challenge Fund and also author of several articles on FATCA and citizenship based taxation.
I don’t know if that helps anyone to feel better or worse about the process, but I am stating that publicly so everyone may be aware.
Has anyone informed American Citizens Abroad about this initiative? There is nothing on their website. Mind you, it is very early.
I have just donated $100
keep it up Brokers and remember this will not be a sprint rather a marathon….
btw. what happened to SwissPinoy ?
Is he still with us ?
You don’t spend hours a day reading and commenting at Brock for two years and not come away with a pretty good sense of who is here and a good measure of their mettle — at least the key players. Mettle, by definition, is the courage to carry on. That is exactly my feeling about them and I trust them and that’s that. Whatever way they have decided to handle this is fine with me. Some would argue the degree of sanity I have (my husband for one) but whatever I’ve got right now is due to Brock. I could never have struggled through the last two years in the cuckoo nest the IRS created if it hadn’t been for this website and the rag-tag bunch of people who found their way here, muddled through to their solutions and emerged with a fighting spirit which I hope is contagious because we are going to need all we can muster of that. We aren’t just taking on city hall; we’re taking on the whole Canadian government.
@IRSCompliantForever
Yes we are all in this together.. L’union fait la force.
je supporte le FCCCDL !
le Fonds de contestation en vertu de la Charte canadienne des droits et libertés… et ce à l’encontre de FATCA.
J’espère que la réunion d’information le 16 mars à Montréal pourra en aider plusieurs.
Comme le dit le détail de l’événement: La session s’adresse avant tout à ceux qui ont des liens de citoyenneté avec les Etats-Unis et sera l’occasion de discuter de questions de divulgation, de conformité et d’autres obligations soulevées par cette loi à très large portée.
http://www.mcgill.ca/law/fr/channels/event/seance-dinformation-sur-le-foreign-account-tax-information-act-fatca-des-etats-unis-2
@all
Full disclosure for those of you who are not aware (as Blaze has done:)
Tricia/nobledreamer = Patricia Moon, admin on Brock and one of those involved with establishing the Charter Challenge Fund
If you have any issues or concerns, I welcome you to email me at nobledreamer16 at gmail dot com
Well, I can disclose (for those who do not know) that IRSCompliantForever also goes by the name of Stephen Kish. He maintains the CCCF account with Tricia.
To me, the FAQs are very clear what the terms are, and the reasoning behind them.
I understand the strategic necessity of not making the size of the collection or the content of the opinion public.
Those who feel uneasy about that can choose not to participate in this way – though I would urge them to contribute their time, and harness their opposition to FATCA and US CBT as applied on Canadian soil: doggedly meet with their MP, write to others, and help to express their strong opposition to FATCA on Canadian sovereign soil.
Remember; ALL Canadians will pay higher taxes to foot the bill – paid for with your federal tax dollars for the CRA and other federal bodies to implement and sustain the subsequent wholesale automatic FATCA reporting apparatus – FOREVER. Likewise for ALL Canadian accountholders at ALL Canadian financial and many non-financial institutions. And what good faith, transparency and accountability have we had from the Harper government, the CBA, the IIAC, the US, etc.? NONE.
This is an unusual undertaking. I personally trust the IBS people organizing this – some of whom I have met in person, or by phone, or otherwise followed religiously over the last years here on the site. I have had occasion to test a substantial portion of the information here against other sources, weighed it – and found it sound. This site has been a saving grace for me.
Nothing is certain or guaranteed in this endeavour – except we know that the Harper government has chosen NOT to share information with us – though they kept the Canadian banks and their investment arms apprised. They chose not to provide the opinions they received from the Justice Department. We know that the bulk of their response to the FOI requests filed for documents have been full of redactions and information marked out – sometimes even the titles. We have gathered information as best we could from writing, calling and meeting with MPs and some have also done this for US representatives. No-one else from even our Canadian political representatives or the CCLA have moved forward on this – at least so far as we know. We know the enabling legislation is being brought forward in Parliament very soon.
I believe this is a necessary step, and would rather see my dollars go here than to the compliance industry or the US. I am an expatriate, no longer a US person, but I despair of this US arrogance imposed on Canadian soil – this is my home, and the US has no business holding Canada and Canadian citizens and legal residents to ransom and extortion.
Each must make up their own minds about what they are comfortable with doing – and how they feel able to proceed.
@NorthernShrike
Good idea. I just didn’t think beyond putting it on our other page. If you can, please *like* both.
The CCCF page is being promoted with an ad so it will receive more exposure than might be obvious.
https://www.facebook.com/CanadianCharterChallengeFund
https://www.facebook.com/USExpatsCanada