Dear Supporters,
Many of you probably predicted that I would not be saying this today, but this message is not a dream: You came up with yet another $100,000 payment — now making a total of $400,000 provided to the Arvay team.
In the last twelve days you actually donated more than $40,000 — an amazing achievement for small donors. This accomplishment proves to all those people who want us to fail — that we are very determined.
You gave until it hurt and then you gave a lot more. It’s hard not to get teary-eyed over the generosity of our supporters, who have come through every time.
We know that the pace of your litigation is painfully slow, and this is unfortunately as expected. The Government will continue to do its best to slow down the process, but we now have the assistance of a case management judge to help keep the process moving more fairly.
We filed in August 2014 and it has taken a very long time (one year) before we are finally into a (summary) trial (August 4-5, 2015). We cannot predict the outcomes of this trial, based on only part of our arguments and, with your continued support, we will prepare for all possibilities.
[Happy birthday Gwen!]
Thank you for your trust,
Stephen Kish,
ADCS-ADSC Chair,— on behalf of Plaintiffs Ginny and Gwen, their families, and the ADCS-ADSC Directors
——————————————————————————————————-
Chers amis et donateurs,
Certains d’entre vous avaient probablement pensé que je ne pourrais pasvous annoncer une si bonne nouvelle aujourd’hui. Mais voilà : ensemble, nous avons réussi à ramasser un autre montant de 100 000 $, ce qui fait un total de 400 000 $ à remettre à l’équipe de MeArvay.
Dans les 12 derniers jours seulement, vous avez donné plus de 40 000 $, un exploit tout à fait extraordinaire pour des « petits donateurs ». À tous ceux qui souhaitent nous voir échouer, cette réussite prouve que nous sommes des plus déterminés. Et que nous réussirons.
Vous avez donné jusqu’à ce que ça fasse mal, puis vous avez donné encore. Difficile de rester insensible devant une si grande générosité.
Nous sommes bien conscients du fait que notre litige avance de façon péniblement lente. Malheureusement, tout ça est normal. Le gouvernement continue à ralentirle processus, mais on nous a maintenant attitré un juge responsable de la gestion de notre dossier qui veillera à ce que le processus progresse de façon plus juste.
En août 2014, nous avons engagé une poursuite contre le gouvernement canadien. Près d’un an plus tard, nous avons enfin la date pour notre procès sommaire : les 4 et 5 août 2015. Impossible de prévoir le dénouement de ce procès, basé uniquement sur une partie de nos arguments juridiques. Mais avec votre appui, nous serons prêts pour toutes les possibilités.
(Bonne fête, Gwen !)
Au nom de nos deux plaignantes, Ginny et Gwen, de leurs familles et des directeurs de l’ADCS-ADSC, je vous remercie de votre confiance.
Stephen Kish,
Président de l’ADCS-ADSC
Brick Tamland,
Today, John Richardson posted this at http://www.adcs-adsc.ca/adcs-blog.html: https://adcsovereignty.wordpress.com/2015/05/01/congratulations-to-all-donors-to-the-fatca-canada-lawsuit-looking-forward-to-august-415/ and cross-posted at Brock: http://isaacbrocksociety.ca/2015/05/01/congratulations-to-all-donors-to-the-fatca-canada-lawsuit-looking-forward-to-august-415/. There is a link below to the multi-part John Richardson-Stephen Kish submission to the Senate Finance Committee and a reference to Phil’s comment which I think prompted you to ask ‘Who is Mr. Richardson’.
Also from the ADCS-ADSC.ca website:
I don;t even know how to begin to say who Mr. Richardson is. Yes, he is co-chair of ADCS, but he is so much more.
He has been in the FATCA CBt fight from the beginning. He organized the FATCA Forum before many had even heard of FATCA, He has given information sessions across Canada and overseas at minimal fees that I doubt even cover his costs, He uses his legal skills and knowledge to advise people on the problem of U.S. citizenship, His website is citizenshipsoluitions.ca
He has made submissions with Stephen to Finance Canada and U.S. Senate Finance Committee. He testified at House of Commons Finance Committee. He is constantly researching and exploring ways for people to deal with this nightmare.
John constantly researches, investigates and communicates on this issue.
Those are only a few of the things John has done. He is a friend to all of us.
There are a few clips of John in this video where you can see his passion and determination.
I forgot to mention that John also went to Washington with Stephen and two Canadians (all at their own expense) to meet with staff of members of Congress.
I know there is much more than what I have posted here but my brain is a bit muddled right now.
@Blaze
It’s probably good you posted that about John Richardson. Although his role is absolutely key, he tends to be a bit less visible than other leaders of this effort–so it is worth re-introducing him to supporters of this effort from time to time.
Thanks, Blaze. Besides the many submissions to different governments and advice to get us all through to another day* from time to time…
I’ll add to the things done gratis / out-of-pocket — his travel for and accommodation in Canada and other countries for the many information sessions presented by Mr. Richardson. Many readers here have been fortunate enough to attend these (with the mere $20.00 admission fee covering the cost of the meeting room other than when that little bit is perhaps turned over to John to make a dent in his costs, with another local organizer picking up the tab for the meeting room). How very fortunate we are for his commitment in assisting all of us. To work with others (including the many literate commenters here) with that commitment and integrity is the gift in all of this — never in my life have I felt this level of respect for people working to make a difference and stand up for what should be our rights.
*Here for those who haven’t read it is a bit of John Richardson’s advice that I refer often to get me out of a funk:
Don wrote:
My thoughts, too. One message from it that comes to my mind is that if we need to do something, we will do something. As we did in the past two days.
It’s long been pretty clear to observers that this lawsuit is running on small donations from people of modest means. Then at 8.00 am yesterday, we were $19,000 short of our goal. Sometime around 13.30 today, we met our goal. FATCA, US law in Canada, is no big deal to the Harper government, but it’s obvious that it’s a big deal to us and when we feel called to arms, we are collectively a very tenacious opponent.
As we kick off a New Quarter (our fifth and final quarter towards our $500,000 goal), this is my favourite New Year’s song, Let the Good Guys Win
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vwSiBxstEc
An interesting coincidence, Murray MacLauchlan, the composer and singer of this song, has something in common with some of us Brockers. He’s a Canadian who was not born in Canada. BUT unlike us, he wasn’t born in the US. So, he’s a first-class Canadian. I used to be one, too.
The Harper Government created two classes of Canadian citizenship as of July 1st, 2014. The Harper Government ignored our letters and e-mails and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. They cannot ignore the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in Federal Court. We are making that happen.
Back to “Let the Good Guys Win,”
“Ring the old year out. Ring the new year in
Bring us all good luck. Let the good guys win.”
Not being the Fatcats the US establishment so likes to portray us as, we and our families literally scrutinise our family budgets to see what we can contribute to the lawsuit and it’s coming in from bake sales and in lieu of summer vacations. In so doing, we have the power to MAKE the good guys win!
For all of you who have been, like me, uncertain and curious about exactly what a “Summary Trial” is, here is a definition from Duhaime’s Law Dictionary (http://www.duhaime.org/LegalDictionary/S/SummaryTrial.aspx). This definition is shown with a Canadian Flag at the top, suggesting we can depend on this explanation here in Canada:
A summary trial is a trial, not an application for summary judgment. In the latter, the applicant must establish that there is no genuine issue to be tried. In a summary trial the matters to be considered are, among other things, the amount involved, the complexity of the matter, the cost of taking the case forward to a conventional trial, and whether there is a real possibility that the defendant can bolster its evidence by discovery or by evidence given at trial.
“In a summary trial the judge may look at conflicting evidence and may draw inferences from the evidence. As long as the Court can make a decision based on the evidence before it, judgment on a summary trial may be given irrespective of the amounts involved, the complexity of the issues, and the existence of conflicting evidence. The applicant must prove its case on a balance of probabilities:”
@Blaze
Thanks again for posting that video. I just watched it–I believe I must have missed it when it was first posted. It’s extremely inspiring to see yourself, John, and allies such as Alison Christians in action! Great work!
I am all for throwing every single lawsuit at the Canadian and US government as possible.
Agree, lets get this present lawsuit under our belt first and then go after every conceivable angle of lawsuit
that is possible starting with the most productive first. I hope and pray he present US constitutional lawsuit
gets traction and is ultimately successful . That will be huge!
Hurray for another milestone accomplished! Surely the struggle to achieve it will speak volumes on our behalf to the US government and all those other detractors (you can bet they’re all watching this!) who would label us all as rich fatcat tax cheats. Fatcats would have raised the money in a couple of days with a few large cheques. It is simply beyond the pale that modern democratic governments are causing a significant portion of their good citizens to go to the lengths we obviously have to defend our rights and freedoms.
Thank you, Calgary, for posting that wonderful quote from John Richardson. I printed it out and will post it up beside my computer along with other quotes from the likes of Winston Churchill that get me through my day.
I’m always looking for ways to describe FATCA in easy simple understandable terms.
Lately I’ve been using this story.
FATCA affects people in three ways. Your relationships with People, Financial Institutions, the Government and your Security. I then go on to give examples.
I think getting people to focus on those 4 categories focuses their mind and make them appreciate how FATCA is not a simple tax evasion tool, but has tentacles that pervades every part of your life.
@MuzzledNoMore
Please consider creating an executive summary of the Human Rights Complaint. No more than 1.5 pages. You are best in position to do this. Let’s think along the line of press release, with quotes. Currently, in the submission format it gets a bit spread out. An idea is to have parts the press may likely lift out and put as part of a news article. Might be posted on the Human Rights Page.
From Senate Submissions:
U.S. Chamber of Commerce:
As with corporations, the United States has long taxed the foreign-earned income of its citizens residing abroad, resulting in double taxation and disincentivizing the hiring of U.S. citizens. Studies have shown that U.S. expatriates employed as managers in foreign affiliates of American worldwide companies are a powerful driver of U.S. exports, so this practice significantly undermines the global competitiveness of U.S. exporters. No other country taxes its citizens working abroad, and any transition to a territorial tax system should take this into consideration and end this damaging practice.
Could someone enlighten us about any developments after the decision by the Dutch Tribunal that deemed the closure of one US-born Dutchman’s account illegal? My fellow Europeans have been rather quiet over here about FATCA (or, at least, that is my impression). My cousins have entertained the thought of a lawsuit, but they simply haven’t got the stomach (nor the money) to contend with years of court battles over a geographical pseudo-crime called “born in the USA”. (In fact, they don’t even speak English!)
Ginny and Gwen will continue to receive our financial support in the hope that their successful lawsuit will influence European policy concerning FATCA.
@Duality, “My fellow Europeans have been rather quiet over here about FATCA (or, at least, that is my impression).”
Everyday more and more that have dominant “Other Nationality” are simply ignoring what said foreign government considers them and not disclosing the USAness.
When asked, Are you a US Citizen? The answer is NO, I am _________ here is my proof of identity that has no indica.
In regards to EU litigation, I do not believe that FATC will hold water in a EU Court where an EU Citizen is being treated differently than other EU Citizens. But someone is going to need to be burned over here first.
JC: You will be seeing more about the UN Complaint very shortly. Just waiting for a few details to be put in place. Thanks for all your interest in this!
@muzzled
If anything the un complaint helped clear the fog in my mind that impossing citizenship without.consent is a rights violation
Is it time to close the comments on this thread so we can concentrate on the FINAL $100000 campaign?
@Brick Tamland
I hope your dog was able to put his birthday gift giving to Harper behind him and move on to other things.
May 5th — last call for making sense of why we are having Bill C-51 pushed through Parliament. Will Nathan Cullen, NDP, AGAIN be ignored in speaking about the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms?
Here we can see Nathan Cullen, NDP, on speaking against Bill C-51 — as he did with Bill C-31 and US-defined US Persons in Canada.
@Calgary411 Of course, Nathan Cullen will again be ignored.
Cullen asks:
He goes on the answer his own question:
All the empty seats around Cullen and probably in the government ranks tells us what type of country we are living in.er
Cullen is very powerful in what he says. I wish the NDP had elected him leader instead of Mulcair.
cc: to Harper from Calgary
Alberta, including big change in Calgary as Edmonton, now has a NDP Majority. We’ll all wake up tomorrow and the world will continue to turn.
Hopefully, many more Canadians than those in Alberta will reject Conservative FEAR-MONGERING and DICTATORSHIP.
Following the path of omnibus Bill C-31 and implementation of US FATCA in Canada:
http://globalnews.ca/news/1984284/with-support-from-liberals-conservatives-pass-controversial-anti-terror-bill/