Liberty and justice for all United States persons abroad

The Isaac Brock Society

Posted on by Posted in Issues regarding US persons abroad 2,208 Comments

March 8, 2016 UPDATE: Legal fees paid — on to Federal Court for Charter trial contesting Canadian FATCA IGA legislation.

Canadians and International Supporters:

You came through once again: $594,970 for legal costs have now been donated and our outstanding legal bill is finally paid off.

Thanks especially to those who donated even though they never had any “spare” money to give, and despite this gave over and over and over again.

This last round of fundraising also shows that our Canadian lawsuit remains dependent on the kindness of our International Friends: There would be no lawsuit without their financial help.

Know that a very generous donation (today) from a supporter in the United States made it possible to pay off the remaining legal debt. Also please appreciate that there would be no lawsuit without the help of the Isaac Brock Society which has kindly let us use its website to solicit funds.

Our next step is the Constitutional-Charter trial in Federal Court.

For this we need more Canadian Witnesses, and my next post will be devoted only to a request for Witnesses willing to go public, like our Plaintiffs Ginny and Gwen.

For the future: I want a win in Federal Court — and I want the new Liberal Government not to appeal that win.

Thank you all for your support,

Stephen Kish,
for the Directors,
Alliance for the Defence of Canadian Sovereignty

2,208 thoughts on “CANADIANS AND INTERNATIONAL SUPPORTERS: Thank you for $594,970 donated and overdue legal bill paid off — Next step is Federal Court Constitutional-Charter trial”

  1. I sent an email to the Canadian Attorney General two days ago. I have received no acknowledgement, so am hoping that she is so overwhelmed with FATCA letters that she has not had time to respond.

  2. @Sleepless in Sydney

    I assume she will not respond except through the government’s lawyers for the same reason that @Ginny Hillis felt it would be breaking convention to write directly to the AG: the AG is a party to the lawsuit and parties to a lawsuit generally only comment on the litigation through their lawyers. The letters do serve to put her on notice that this issue is being closely watched and isn’t going away. I would be very surprised if she comments while the litigation is still pending except possibly in very vague general terms.

  3. @Dash 1729

    I agree with your assumption as to why the AG is not responding to individuals. Let’s keep those letter piling up on her desk! I want her official response to be the end of this nightmare for all of us.Then I dream of other legal challenges launched in other countries to the same effect. Are they sitting back waiting to see what is happening here? I would not have that patience if I were them.

    @Tricia
    I spent the morning rereading the horrible personal accounts of posters who entered into either the OVDI or Streamlined systems and now I am depressed.

  4. It sounds as though our Ministers aren’t quite settled in yet, if they’re even in Ottawa at all. This message from my MP yesterday:

    “As soon as Jody Raybould Wilson has her chief of staff this is on top of my list. She has not even moved into her Hill office yet, me neither, but I will be in Ottawa Nov 30 – Dec 10 and I will find out more, and argue the injustice. I appreciate the reminder.”

  8. The OECD promotes the sharing of financial data on “NON-RESIDENTS”, not residents. Our PM and AG need to be made aware of that.

  9. Article in Canada’s National Post today about Canada making policy decisions that might conflict with the interests of the United States (e.g., Mr. Trudeau’s decision to remove Canada’s fighter jets from ISIL airstrikes).

    Consider this statement in the article: “Some Americans at the [Halifax International Security] forum expressed hope that as Canada’s new leaders settle in, they would be more cautious, avoiding any policy change that would be seen as a rebuke to the U.S.”

    This is what Canada’s new Attorney General is up against. A decision on her part to abandon defence of our lawsuit or to “reopen” the FATCA IGA enabling legislation with the intention of somehow amending the legislation — to secure the Charter rights of Canadians and the sovereignty of our country — would in fact be a very severe rebuke to the United States.

    Send the AG some words of encouragement:

    Jody.Wilson-Raybould@parl.gc.ca

  10. Minister Wilson-Raybould is on the CBC’s The Current this am:

    “Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould embraces new mandate with great expectations

    The to-do list is long for Jody Wilson-Raybould. From changes to the anti-terror bill, to doctor-assisted-death, to confronting mandatory minimum sentencing. Much of her mandate appears to focus on undoing what the Harper government did. But the new Justice Minister is up for the challenge.”

    Let’s hope that she is up to the USA/FATCA challenge.

  11. This is how Mr. A, who just commented above, ended his letter to the Attorney General:

    “…We strongly encourage you to abandon the further defense of this lawsuit, and for the new Liberal government to justly resolve the issue by amending the C-31 FATCA-IGA legislation to exclude Canadian citizens or permanent residents who are resident in Canada from the FATCA IGA definition of a “US Person”.

    Minister Brison previously voted for this amendment when the legislation was being debated by the Standing Committee on Finance in the House of Commons in 2014.

    Such an amendment will uphold the Charter rights of thousands of Canadians and spare further Canadian tax dollars from being spent unnecessarily defending this lawsuit.

    Thank you for your attention to this matter.

    Yours sincerely, (used my and my wife’s real names again)…”

  12. Well written Mr. A, and good to mention Minister Brison’s vote.

    In one of my letters I included Constitutional expert, Peter Hogg’s letter to the Ministry of Finance. He argues that the legislation would not withstand a charter challenge and that infringed on Sections 7, 8 and 15. in it he recommends that the legislation be modified to exclude Canadians citizens and residents.

  13. Mr. A and Marie,

    —Just listened to the CBC interview with Minister Wilson-Raybould.

    As expected, our FATCA lawsuit was not mentioned as a priority, but the Attorney General did say that she aims to “…uphold values articulated in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms”.

    IF — IF — she is true to her word, and the AG and cabinet are not influenced by the certainty of an angry “rebuke” from the United States, we should be ok….

    Jody.Wilson-Raybould@parl.gc.ca

  14. I just received a response from Scott Brison’s office.

    “The matter you raise falls more directly under the jurisdiction of the Minister of National Revenue, the Honourable Diane Lebouthillier. Therefore, we have forwarded a copy of your correspondence to her office.”

  16. Stephen,

    After a presentation on Capacity and the Alberta Adult Guardianship and Trustee Act given at a *Disabilities* meeting last night, I am preparing a document re my son’s (and others like him) plight as someone born in Canada but deemed a US citizen as a result of birth to two US citizen parents. I will try to explain it as simply as I can to someone at the Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee, Disability Services — notwithstanding that such Canadian-born US-deemed US citizens are not identifiable — entrapped into ongoing complex compliance (unless they ignore it) because they do not have the *requisite mental capacity* to renounce that non-meaningful, without consent ACQUIRED at the time of their birth citizenship. (I will of course touch on the other ways Canadians can become *Accidental Americans*.) What are their guardians, trustees, parents to do as they cannot act on behalf of the persons they represent?

    In working on this, what crossed my mind is *Should I update my communications to the new Justice Minister and others in the Liberal government, asking if my son could / would be eligible to apply as a refugee from the USA?* How crazy is that?

  18. *Should I update my communications to the new Justice Minister and others in the Liberal government, asking if my son could / would be eligible to apply as a refugee from the USA?*

    That does look pretty crazy to me. Your son already has the right to remain in Canada and does not have to “return” to a country that persecutes him.

    Also consider that if a refugee comes from the Eritrea, permission to remain in Canada would not exempt the person from Eritrea’s US-style taxation. Other governmental or court actions could do that, and the Charter of Rights could do that, but recogntion as a refugee doesn’t do it.

  25. PatCanadian,

    Yes, I suggest that everyone should also write to the second Defendant, Revenue Minister: Diane.Lebouthillier@parl.gc.ca

    I suspect though that the people making the final decision will be the Prime Minister and the Attorney General/Minister of Justice. As Minister of Justice, Ms. Jody Wilson-Raybould really has to put her own stamp of Constitutional/Charter approval on the inherited FATCA IGA enabling legislation — if that legislation is to be retained by the new Liberal Government. Will fear of the United States or protection of Canadians win out?

    Because of the lawsuit that you are helping to fund, the AG/MOJ is forced into a situation in which she has no choice but to respond … one way or another.

    — One Brocker wrote me that the assistant to Ms. Wilson-Raybould forwarded her email to the Minister of Finance. It is OK to forward the email to others, but you need to insist that the Attorney General, who we are suing, receives and responds to your letter.

    The article that you cited says: ” Israeli politicians occasionally risk the ire of their American allies.”

    What about Canadian politicians?

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