Cross-posting from MapleSandbox.ca: FATCA Letter to Leaders and MPs. Thanks for posting, Lynne!
FATCA Letter to Leaders and MPs
In this election year, ADCS has sent letters requesting Party policy on FATCA:
Letter to Leader of NDP
Letter to Leader of Liberals
Letter to Leader of Green Party
Letter to Leader of Conservatives
Copies of that letter to several Opposition Critics, Cabinet Ministers or some MPs.
As you can see, these letters are very similar. We ask direct questions relating to FATCA. As an example, here is the content of the letter to Thomas Mulcair:
Thank you to you, the NDP and some of your MPs for standing up for Canadian citizens and residents, whether born in the United States, in Canada or in any other country, against the American Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) enabling legislation.
You may be aware we have commenced litigation against the Government of Canada resulting from the Conservative government surrendering Canadian citizens, residents, laws, constitution and sovereignty to the United States for FATCA.
We are disappointed at your near silence since the FATCA enabling act was passed. We are, therefore, contacting you now to request your party’s policy in writing on what you would do if the NDP is elected to form the next government.
Specifically, we ask:
1. Will your party commit to repealing the FATCA IGA in its entirety?
2. If not, why not?
3. What action will your party take to protect Canadian citizens and residents from the demands of a foreign government under FATCA?
4. What action will your party take to uphold Canadian laws, the constitution, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and Canadian sovereignty as they relate to FATCA?
5. What action will your party take to agree with our lawsuit that the FATCA enabling Act violates the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and Canada’s constitution? Will you direct the Ministry of Justice to quickly reach an acceptable settlement with us?
6. What action will your party take to ensure a foreign law does not prevail over Canadian privacy, human rights, banking and other laws?
7. What is your time frame for any commitment you may make?Approximately one million Canadians, their families and business associates are affected by FATCA and many will want to know which party represents their needs and rights. Many will make their voting decision based on this.
We hope the NDP will fight for their rights as Canadians.
I will advise you of the responses we receive or if we do not receive responses.
Other Canadians may wish to write to their MPs and/or candidates in their ridings. You can share responses you receive here.
I’ve sent off my copies to the three parties in question. Harper no! IMO the Cons are a lost cause. Well done, Lynne Swanson.
@Ann: Stephen insisted I be :”courteous” in the letter to the Conservatives.
Excellent initiative!! I think we all look forward to the replies, and to learning who doesn’t reply.
I’m not holding my breath that you’ll even get a reply from the Conservatives; if you do, I predict a brush-off or reiteration of the rubbish they spouted during the Finance Committee hearing. Variations on the theme of “Congress has spoken.” (A: Congress didn’t approve the IGA, this was US Treasury’s doing. B. So what if they have spoken? We aren’t part of the US, they aren’t our government, who cares what they’ve spoken? Bugger off.)
I don’t think I’ll be eating any crow on that preceding paragraph …
Wonderful letters!
Re: NDP, Libs. It seems to me that we have become yesterday’s news. They had themselves worked into a frenzy, pounding their fists on our behalf when FATCA was being debated in Parliament. Now that the IGA has been signed, we are old news, next issue please! Let’s be honest, do you think the outcome would be any different if we had an NDP government??? It is very apparent that the only group prepared to defend us, is US. It makes me realize how important and necessary this litigation is.
Any update on responses to the letters?
Litigation vs. Canadian political process to kill the FATCA IGA enabling legislation?
Personally, I feel (perhaps like Marie) that we have a better chance with litigation in the courts (even moving at what many feel is a glacial pace) than with the faint hope that a Liberal or NDP majority will repeal the bad legislation.
Do we really expect that either party would actually take on the Americans, with their promise of financial harm to the Canadian economy for Canada’s willful non-compliance, and against the wishes of the powerful banking and Bergian tax compliance lobbyists — all for the sake of something called “sovereignty” and a few Charter rights?
— Still feel that it might have been different if Jean Chretien were the Leader.