New Democrats are calling on the Conservatives to acknowledge the concerns with the U.S. Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and agree to remove it from Budget Bill C-31.
“Despite broad opposition, the Conservatives are charging ahead with the implementation of this agreement,” said NDP National Revenue Critic Murray Rankin (Victoria). “Serious concerns remain about the potential violation of privacy and constitutional rights, as well as unknown costs to Canadians.”
Bill C-31 moves to implement the Canada-US intergovernmental agreement on the FATCA and also to grant the Minister of National Revenue sweeping powers to make any regulation necessary to carry out the agreement.
“How can the Conservatives justify burying this agreement – that could negatively affect 1 million people and that has nothing to do with the budget – inside a 359-page omnibus bill,” said NDP Finance Critic Nathan Cullen (Skeena—Bulkley Valley).”There’s no excuse. FATCA must be removed from the budget so it can be properly scrutinized.”
http://www.ndp.ca/news/conservatives-must-remove-fatca-budget-bill
@Kathy
That MP was Gerald Keddy, MP for South Shore – St. Margaret’s (NS). I also sent an email, a copy of which I attached to the thread “House Finance Committee Q&A today on Canada-US IGA” above.
@Kathy: As CC said, it was Gerald Keddy (1:26:20). His comment was in response Scott Brison. He raised “points of clarification” and said not Canadian citizens, but “American citizens living in Canada.” He included those who are American citizens “by default.” He also stressed a “lot of people are following the law.”
gerald.keddy@parl.gc.ca
Sorry I neglected to include the link to the video. Here it is.FATCA issues begin around 1:05.
http://parlvu.parl.gc.ca/Parlvu/ContentEntityDetailView.aspx?contententityid=11704&date=20140501&lang=en
Regarding Gerald Keddy, he has been an MP for many years, but I doubt many Canadians have heard his name. I live in the Maritimes, and even locally, he’s rarely mentioned in the media.
There are many Canadians with U.S. connections in his riding, so he should know better.
@ChearsBigEars:
Your Comment:
“As far as the comparisons to “Nazis” that some here don’t like and want to soft peddle or use what they consider an extreme viewpoint diminish our role in the new world order run by the fascist empire to the south, I say too bad. Stop trying to deny comparisons to ’30s Germany.”
Absolutely correct, Chears!:
There can hardly be a more correct comparison. Because that is exactly what they are doing (US, UN,EU, UK, Canada, OECD ,IMF,BIS, et al)
Globalists who think borders mean nothing and sovereignty is their enemy in their aims of taking everything from everyone on this planet to further their criminality and corruption. It is not enough that they have ruined a country entire ( the US as it is today) They want it all and are coming for it all. The banks are their agents to accomplish this and the banks are as complicit and responsible as they are in attaining their goals at the expense of innocent and law abiding peoples around the world.
It is clear from the capitulation of leaders of countries who have signed IGA’s with a criminal enterprise like the IRS which is run by criminals who state viciously their aims, that they fear more the powers of the global cabal, of which they are a part, than they do their own citizens, from whom it is supposed and assumed they gain their authority.
The comparisons to Nazi Germany and how those who opposed them were treated cannot be denied because it is glaring and pointed.
Everyone makes the case about the Jews. 6 million died at the hands of those thugs and murderers but many more who opposed Hitler and his regime lost their lives too. 23 million in the camps, sent there because they opposed , either politically , morally or in other ways the regime.
In the US today, which is never mentioned here that I know of, except for your reference, there IS resistance to the current regime. It is not often reported and would never be reported without the alternative media but word is getting out. Resistance is there and it is growing.
With over 92 million people out of work in the states it is difficult to organize but they ARE doing it. They also have their entire congress and the Supreme Court against them , ignoring or just going around the Constiution to violate the rights of individuals and citizens. They are destroying the country from within and reaching out like an octopus for all who have any association or connection to the country.
How else can one see it? Allowing illegals to get benefits and allowing a blanket amnesty via decree. Destroy borders, put people on the bread lines and you will have little resistance.
THIS can be easily seen as the aim of FATCA as well , for when you read it, it is clear the aim is to destroy.
NOT enough has been made of joint accounts: Let’s look at this as an illustration of just how destructive FATCA is and how complicit our government REALLY is in this evil, for the IGA not only allows such but aids it in its execution and will use ‘third partys’ (read snitches) to accomplish it. ALL to protect the banks ( who , by the way, have had the aid of Canadian government by putting the bail in clause in LAST years budget! )
Example: Joint account in a Canadian bank. One spouse American. One Spouse Canadian. BECAUSE one is American, IRS can and will be aware of Canadian spouses entire financial history, assets, life information from the beginning of time. AND say they are justified in knowing that and TAKING that simply because one is married to the other and one is American. NOT just taking it but penalizing both of them for having the audacity to live their lives and pay their taxes to Canada and saving for retirement. All within the laws of the land in which they RESIDE.
They announce with glee that penalties are ‘punishment’.And they annouce it should be HARSH because the aim is not tax but penalize and punish.
Punishment for what? For being responsible, hardworking and saving to support themselves in retirement. The IRS is seen in the US as a criminal enterprise and their own people owe taxes in the billions. The movement to abolish the IRS is getting stronger every day.
WHY then would OUR Canadian government sign an IGA with the thugs and criminals the IRS has become and throw many citizens to the wolves?
To save their miserable hides? To save the miserable hides of the banks?
To whom do they owe allegience? NO one? To whom will THEY plead when they come for them?
@ FuriousAC
Well said and I agree. I don’t watch MSM but when I do get a glimpse of it I do not accept anything written or stated without putting on my sceptic spectacles to take a better look. Sounds like you do much the same. Comparisons are useful, to a point, but this whole “total information awareness” world that TPT(Should Not)B are creating seems like it goes so far beyond what has been before that comparisons to anything in the past fail to convey the total breadth and depth of the rabbit hole we are falling into. However I see those sprouts of resistance you refer to and I cannot help but think, even though I’m not a curler — HURRY, HURRY HARD!
@Brockers, a tool to get it removed was granted today by a another reprieve and delay!!
See Calgary411 on the front page.
Write your MP today and bring this to their attention. Especially those in opposition!!!
@Em:
Your comment:
“HURRY,HURRY, HARD!”
Well, I am not a curler either but that is my feeling as well.
Enough already. Can we ever get back to a normal life. ( If we ever really had one to begin with)
Well, I thought we did and was pretty happy in it to boot.
Until this mess came along.
HURRY,HURRY,HARD is exactly how I feel, too.
Thanks for my real chuckle of the day and it is supper time already!
John Rafferty MP Thunder Bay Rainy River, Ottawa Leaders Ledger: Harper Government stuffing more garbage legislation – See more at: http://www.netnewsledger.com/2014/05/02/rafferty-harper-government-stuffing-more-garbage-legislation
MP, Nathan Cullen, May 2, 2014: http://isaacbrocksociety.ca/2014/05/02/toronto-citizenship-based-taxation-live-comments/comment-page-3/#comment-1615279
http://www.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?Language=E&Mode=1&Parl=41&Ses=2&DocId=6563280
Canada-U.S. Relations
Mr. Guy Caron (Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, NDP):
Mr. Speaker, at yesterday’s finance committee meeting, we asked officials from that department how much it will cost Canadians to implement the Canada-U.S. agreement on foreign accounts. They estimate it will cost up to several hundred million dollars, but they do not know exactly how much.
We do know, however, that the agreement will have a huge impact on the private lives of millions of Canadians. The Conservatives want to have this adopted as quickly as possible.
Why is this government in such a hurry to provide Canadians’ personal information to the Internal Revenue Service?
Mr. Andrew Saxton (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance, CPC):
Mr. Speaker, without an agreement in place, our financial institutions would still have to comply with FATCA. This would have required banks to report information directly to the IRS, and deny basic banking services to clients. Furthermore, both banks and their clients would have been subject to a 30% withholding tax. With an agreement in place, this will not happen.
Mr. Nathan Cullen (Skeena—Bulkley Valley, NDP):
Mr. Speaker, one would think that if it was such a fabulous agreement, the Conservatives would not have buried it in the middle of a 400-page omnibus bill, but they did.
The Conservatives called the long form census a terrible invasion of privacy, but now they are in a mad rush to hand over to the IRS personal and private financial information from up to one million Canadians. They are ramming through the implementation of FATCA in spite of these serious concerns.
Will the Conservatives pull this flawed agreement from the omnibus bill, take a breath, and get this right for once?
Mr. Andrew Saxton (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance, CPC):
Mr. Speaker, our government recognizes that FATCA has raised a number of concerns in Canada, which is why we came up with an intergovernmental agreement. The agreement addresses these concerns by relying on the existing framework under the Canada-U.S. tax treaty. CRA will not assist the IRS in collecting U.S. taxes, and no new taxes will be imposed.
In our negotiations, we obtained a number of concessions, including exempting certain accounts, like RRSPs, RDSPs, TFSAs, et cetera, from FATCA reporting.
We are now in a much better position than without an agreement.
@Calgary411 Regarding Mr. Andrew Saxton Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance CPC:
I have heard this from every mp.Every reply letter,( if you actually get one and many do not respond at all.) It is like a parrot.
Do they all actually believe it? Or is it that this is what they have been told to say?
I simply cannot believe all these guys and gals are THAT obtuse.
I would be willing to bet NONE of them have actually read the FATCA nor the IGA so willingly signed by our government. I challenge them to do so and then come back at us and repeat this drivel.
@FuriousAC
Problem is that they may have read it but didn’t understand it or they are following instructions to toe the line… Or they are too stupid to say… I don’t get it
When I read it… I thought I got it but until I got on this site then I realize I didn’t get it at all… with all the viewpoints here… I get a different prospective.. I didn’t get that from other web sites… just… hand it over & don’t let the door hit u on the way out… from both sides. Or the usual… u are rich & stealing out of my pocket…. u deserve what u get… blah… blah…
As Schubert1975 has suggested already, it would be a great show of support for us all to let the NDP know how appreciative we are of their efforts. I would encourage everyone to send a thank you note in your own words to them to let them know we are watching, and to inspire them to continue to work on our behalf. I just sent this email to all members of the NDP caucus:
Dear NDP caucus members,
Thank you for the efforts you all have made and continue to make, helping to protect the basic human rights of Canadians with ‘US person’ status as imposed by the USA.
To be forced by a foreign government to pay tribute to a country one has no economic or even social ties with, and to have one’s own home government help in the process, is a scenario I could never have imagined in my wildest dreams. Last July 1st, was a very sad day for me, and this one looks like it will be even sadder, but your collective efforts bring me some hope and comfort.
I know every party wants to win voters, and the Conservative party’s stance on FATCA has lost them many which the NDP stands to gain, but I hope that you support us not just because you want our votes, but because it is the right thing to do.
Sincerely,
KXXXXXXX PXXXX
Canadian citizen since birth in 1962 (unfortunately on US soil)
Resident in Canada since 1963
I’ve already sent a thank you to all NDP MPs using my real name but I’m waffling about whether or not I should send a more personalized one too. I’ve been very reluctant to send e-mails to politicians with much, if any, hint at my personal situation (it’s awfully convoluted and besides I don’t want to jeopardize my husband’s CLN) but I really think that it’s those types of e-mails which make the deepest impression and elicit the best response. Look at the huge inroads Calgary411 has made with her transparency. That type of e-mail, for me, would take some careful thinking and I would have to tread lightly but then that is a major part of the dilemma we are all in, isn’t it. We are trapped by the need for anonymity which has become almost impossible in our ever increasing and alarming surveillance state. The closest I came to transparency was a snail mail letter I sent to Minister Flaherty last year. I’m now actually relieved by the thought that since his passing it has probably been buried in a banker’s box somewhere or better yet, destroyed. I guess another factor in my reluctance to personalize is that by choosing defiance over compliance I have plunged myself into a perpetual state of uncertainty. The scales are balanced on the 50/50 point, for the moment, and I don’t want to tip them towards the wrong side.
One dreadful thing about revealing any private details of our lives these days is that we can NEVER get them back. That is just one aspect of what is so outrageous about FBAR and FATCA reports. Also we do not know who sees those reports BUT we do know considerable harm could come to us if the information in those reports is abused or intercepted.
I’ve used this over and over again in comments sections but I’ll toss it in here too.
FATCA is data collection. Data is knowledge. Knowledge is power. Power is control. Therefore, FATCA = FOREIGN ATTACK TO CONTROL ALL.
@Em, Well said
@Em, if it makes you feel any braver, I have always used my real name in correspondence with all Canadian politicians. Today I sent an email to each member of the NDP caucus. I am not the least worried about this. However I have not allowed my real name to be published in any of the articles I have been interviewed for (and have been turned down for a few because of this). My reasoning is that the ONLY people who I do not want to know my identity are the financial institutions I deal with. If someone I know from one of the FFI’s I have accounts with (and I deal with several now thanks to FATCA) should read and recognize my name, then I might inadvertantly let the cat out of the bag, or should CBA decide to find out who Kxxxxxxx Pxxxx is (perhaps they hold a grudge from the protest we had outside their annual meeting), then I might find myself being asked questions by a FFI that I do not want to have to answer. I don’t even care if the IRS knows who I am from afar, as long as they do not get any personal financial information from a FFI which they can then potentially use against me. I really don’t think we have anything to fear as long as we are not ‘out’ with our financial institutions. As you say, information is power, and the FFI’s hold all the cards in terms of sharing our information with those who can cause us harm.
@ WhiteKat
I hate being secretive and stealthy. I live in a small town and now both my husband and I have become quite UNspoken about our US connections. I’m the type who would have liked to have flown a US flag at half staff when my husband finally gets his CLN — not going to happen though. I will however fly the Canadian flag upside down in the distress position on Canada Day to UNcelebrate the arrival of FATCA. I’ve got a more personalized e-mail prepared … still thinking about whether to send it and if I do, when.
@Em, I am so not looking forward to this Canada Day. Last year was bad enough..felt like I was the only miserable one in a sea of celebrators.
@ Em & WhiteKat,
I have also used my real name in all my emails to MP’s and Senators. I have decided that the risk of exposing my name to them being linked to my FI’s is hopefully negligible. I have not, however, definitively stated my US place of birth – I have only revealed that I am a Canadian citizen from birth who has lived my life in Canada and that I am potentially affected by FATCA.
I have been finding inspiration and strength from the many profound quotes of Martin Luther King Jr.,
such as:
“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”
@ Mr. A.
That’s pretty much how I’ve been doing it too. I always identify myself as a Canadian citizen and use my real name but don’t mention my “US connectedness”. Even so my Conservative MP somehow read and misread between the lines and this was his response:
“I understand your comments and concerns regarding the decision by the United States to tax American Citizens living in Canada. I have received similar concerns from Canadians across the country. However, unfortunately, the Canadian Government has no role or ability to intervene. We have, however, been advised to suggest that Canadians contact a professional tax advisor to obtain assistance.”
Off the FATCA IGA topicis, but…
Speaking of Harper, the beat goes on: Harper comments ‘inappropriate’ — Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin ‘has not done anything wrong by raising the flag’: Rocco Galati
Why do Conservative MPs march in lockstep with him? Do none have a mind of their own?
@Mr. A. Good for you, and good quote. I have closed pretty much every correspondence I have ever had, not only with my name, but also my place of birth. However I also make a point to let them know I have been Canadian since birth, and NEVER refer to myself as an American.