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
I think you’re right that equality rights like ours are subject to the not withstanding clause. I did not realize that application of the not withstanding clause is temporary at a maximum of 5 years.
Thank you Ginny. I worry about the not withstanding clause, get reassurance and then later start worrying about it again. Crazy but that’s me and FATCA!
Received Government response to NDP questions. Government acknowledges existence of our lawsuit. Will post later this morning.
@Stephen Kish
Thanks for letting us know. Looking forward to reading their response.
@Cheryl
Who can trust them? I’ll never get over that fact that our previous government jumped so quickly onto the FATCA IGA bandwagon, when the response should have been to stall, stall, stall against this obvious act of aggression. It’s almost as though they wanted to impress the US with their ability to embrace it before other countries could. Their judgment proved to be very poor, when other nations still haven’t signed on without suffering retaliatory measures by the US. You gotta know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em…Canada folded way too early.
Thank you, Stephen. Will stay tuned.
@Bubblebustin I hear ya!
That didn’t come out quite right, “Their judgment proved to be very poor, when other nations still haven’t signed on without suffering retaliatory measures by the US”.
Should be, “Their judgment proved to be very poor, when other nations that haven’t signed on still haven’t suffered retaliatory measures by the US”.
My goodness, THANK YOU to all the multitude who have contributed … whether in Cash or work. Every contribution is another paving stone (or several) along this pathway to Freedom.
Yes Duke of Devon, to prevail, we may need all of this to happen below:
“This lawsuit will only be the opening salvo in a protracted battle. If we are successful, the banks will say that they HAVE to report to the IRS directly. To prevent that, would require a law forbidding them to do so. Remember Canada passed the Foreign Extrterritorial Measures Act FEMA. It has only ever used once-to block US extraterritorial measures against Cuba that affected Canada.
( too bad they haven’t used FEMA against FATCA. – they could)
So we are at the mid point of the beginning not the mid point of the war.
To prevail, we will need France, the E.U., maybe China and others to join in. The only other way is for the US congress to come to its’senses and if you think that is going to happen………..”
OR, we could win a CBT law suit and it all goes away at once. That’s the beauty of a CBT law suit, if successful, CBT is gone and FATCA is rendered useless. If a FATCA suit is won, its a positive step, but were still screwed.
@ Duke of Devon
FEMA against FATCA? Yes, that sounds good to me. Maybe it’s something the Arvay team can work with. I had no idea Canada had a FEMA that might be useful (unlike the other one over the border). I wonder if Ms. Wilson-Raybould is aware of this?
If it’s never been used, now would be the perfect time for Minister of Justice and Attorney General Jodi Wilson-Raybould to become acquainted with and use FEMA for FATCA. All Canadians should be aware of what this is. So glad Duke of Devon has highlighted this option for those here who would like to be part of first-class or no-class-at-all Canadians.
I disagree that FEMA applies to FATCA. The reason it was constituted is that it deals with trade and commerce between nations and was specifically written to circumvent Canada being a conduit through which US products could be traded with Cuba, while permitting our products to be traded with Cuba.
Here’s the preamble:
An Act to authorize the making of orders relating to the production of records and the giving of information for the purposes of proceedings in foreign tribunals, relating to measures of foreign states or foreign tribunals affecting international trade or commerce and in respect of the recognition and enforcement in Canada of certain foreign judgments.
The foreign judgements referenced pertain to penalties under trade agreements. and their tribunals.
FATCA and the IGAs are different animals and both the USA and CAN know it. Neither country drafted this in terms of trade and commerce as this terms are judicially considered. This is tax law.
You can view it as a form of transfer of commerce, as in your personal wealth, but that is not the application in law of FEMA.
Our legal issues are sec. 15 etc, banking privacy laws in Canada, extraterritorial reach by the USA ( which we frame as sovereignty).
Arvay and his law firm have very skilled lawyers who know how to frame our law suit and have done so. They are not interested in extraneous laws that have no application to the issues at hand nor would the court ever entertain them.
FEMA is an interesting statute and was passed for one reason and is a good of example of where Canada stood up to the UN and the USA and said you can’t tell us we are precluded from trading with Cuba.
Too bad they won’t stand up for a group of Canadian citizens and permanent residents in the same way and tell the USA to go….
@Cheryl: hang in there. We are on the right track. Keep the faith.
@ Canadian Ginny
So trading (or in Canada’s case, giving away gratis) private information about individuals doesn’t qualify for FEMA. Too bad … it looked hopeful. It does go to show that IF Canada had been interested in protecting its citizens it could have passed a FEMA-like act to reject FATCA and to order all Canadian FIs to comply with Canada’s privacy laws, not the American FATCA law. Obviously it’s industry that counts, not individuals.
Thanks Ginny. I’m trying as I guess everyone is.
Ditto from me, EmBee, CanadianGinny.
@EmBee
It does go to show that IF Canada had been interested in protecting its citizens it could have passed a FEMA-like act to reject FATCA and to order all Canadian FIs to comply with Canada’s privacy laws, not the American FATCA law. Obviously it’s industry that counts, not individuals.
YUP, we don’t count. They could have done anything except enter into the IGA.
So JT is in Washington and already Obama has been invited to Ottawa in June to address parliament. Time to buy a train ticket, me thinks.
Who wants to design my poster? I can’t throw in a US passport for the bonfire, never got one. Would an expired Canadian passport suffice or is that a treasonous act? It actually belongs to ‘property of the Queen’ me thinks.
No doubt George 3rd will advise.
Cheryl we all have our up and down days, hope today is better for you. It’s pretty clear how this effects all of us at some points. Hard to get through some days. Last evening may be an example of how I was trying, inch by inch, and not succeeding too well when I run out of patience. It’s my professional hazard.
After we win our lawsuit, the IGA will be useless. But the banks will insist they have to comply with FATCA. A FEMA like law will be required to stop them. Trudeau Père was willing to protect Canadian trade interests with Cuba against the US wishes. Let’s see if Trudeau fils will do the same with Canadian banking privacy.
@Duke
It does go to show that IF Canada had been interested in protecting its citizens it could have passed a FEMA-like act to reject FATCA and to order all Canadian FIs to comply with Canada’s privacy laws, not the American FATCA law. Obviously it’s industry that counts, not individuals.
Right you are. Trudeau fils entered the light weight boxing category didn’t he? I could be wrong about that boxing analogy but that’s the impression he has left me. These are anything but sunny days for us.
What a great idea Ginny.
Instead of burning little US passports (they’d call a fire marshall or a SWAT team) why not hang a big paper mâché US passport in effigy. I’m thinking a US passport body with wrists in handcuffs, ankles in shackles and head in a noose. Having a US passport can be so restrictive that some people just want to end the misery by renunciation.
IF Canada had been interested in protecting its citizens, they could have incorporated the amendment in the Implementation Act so no accounts of Canadian citizens living in Canada would be reported to IRS.
The Con Cons weren’t interested. The Lib Cons presented that amendment at Finance Committee through Scott Brison who is now President of Treasury Board. They also supported that amendment put forward by Murray Rankin and the NDP.
The Lib Cons could still pass such an amendment–but they won’t.
A Hypocrite is a Hypocrite is a Hypocrite.
@Blaze
If I was a constituent of Brison’s I’d be demanding a meeting with him and asking him why they aren’t doing this.
But that’s just me.
“Cheryl we all have our up and down days, hope today is better for you. It’s pretty clear how this effects all of us at some points. Hard to get through some days. Last evening may be an example of how I was trying, inch by inch, and not succeeding too well when I run out of patience. It’s my professional hazard.”
Ginny,
Even though my wife is still in disbelief that the United States, the country that she was born in, grew up in for 24 years and loved for 39, did this to her and by extension to our kids (Canadian born).
I, on the other hand, as a Canadian born, full-fledged blood Canadian who has been rendered twice a second class citizen (first when my family was interned in 1942 after Pearl Harbor deemed as enemy aliens, and secondly, with FATCA and the lack of my own birth-country’s spine to do anything but fold) have nothing but absolute hate for the Americans and for homelanders.
My wife makes $12K an year at a part time job and Obama wants money out of her pocket, having to pay $2000/annual filing just to get current. I am currently trying to develop a photography business from the ground up because I cannot work due to back injury.
When you took on the IRS, you did it not only to help yourself, but you did it for those of us powerless like my wife, the ones who don’t have the financial means to do anything but stand stock still and hope to hell we don’t get noticed because we don’t have the finances to get clear. We can’t do anything because we don’t have the financial resources to do so. And my heart goes out to you as do my everlasting thank you.
Thank you…thank you, thank you…
Sincerely,
Haruo.
@The Animal…..we are indeed a “motley crew” aboard HMS Isaac Brock!!!
You know what? There is great strength in that.
When this is past there MUST be an IBS confab…Ontario is “central” in the scheme of things. So many corners of the globe and so many different backgrounds all coming together with one mind, one goal and one strength.