Canadian Election 19 Oct 2015!

27 thoughts on “Canadian Election 19 Oct 2015!”

1. @MuzzledNoMore

   RE: Canadian Federal Election: It’s time to throw the people who betrayed us out of office,

   Your letter works quite well. Along with my own thoughts on FATCA, I sent your letter to my local NDP and Liberal candidates. Never heard back from the NDP but got a great response from the Liberal candidate here. We are still talking about FATCA, the IGA and the Summary Trial. Hope there is an improvement in Liberal policy about this issue.

2. I will contact the candidates in my riding about this and send them a paraphrased version of this letter. I am not too optimistic about Linda McQuaig, the NDP candidate, as she turned in a very disappointing showing regarding FATCA issues in the 2013 by-election. She is running again this time and with Chrystia Freeland now out of the way (moving to an adjacent riding), Ms. McQuaig seems to stand a good chance of getting in this time.

   Still, though, I am not a single issue voter, and will likely vote for the non-Cons candidate with the best chance of winning the riding–even if that turns out to be Ms. McQuaig. In the 2013 by-election I voted for a minor party candidate known for his support of Brock but will support only serious candidates in 2015 with the balance of power in the House at stake.

3. I do have a question about the letter that was posted here, in particular the following:

   They are immigrants who have put down roots in this country, have become citizens of Canada and are married to native-born Canadians.

   Many are NOT immigrants. Neither Gwen nor Ginny, for example, are immigrants as both had at least one Canadian parent and were both Canadians from birth. Nor is someone born in Canada to US born parents who has stayed in Canada their whole lives an immigrant. Nor is someone born in Canada who had a green card for some years but has now returned to Canada an immigrant in Canada.

   I’d suggest changing the wording here–and I will do so for the version I send out myself.

4. I suggest the following slightly revised version of the first three paragraphs and this is what I will send on to my candidates. The rest seems fine.

   On February 5, 2014 the Conservative government under Prime Minister Stephen Harper passed into Canadian law an agreement with the United States to implement the provisions of the U.S. “Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act” (FATCA). The agreement was buried in the monstrous budget Bill C-31 as Part 5 of that document and does nothing less than strip financial privacy rights from a segment of Canada’s population solely due to their alleged connections with the United States.

   It is estimated that a million such persons live in Canada. They are Canadian citizens who have put down roots in this country and are married to Canadian citizens. They are teachers, doctors, saw-mill workers, bus-drivers, your next door neighbour and maybe your hairdresser. They are ordinary, every-day Canadians.

   But the country where they were born—or which claims they have a connection–is broke and has recently activated a 100-year-old tax law that few people knew about because it was largely unenforced. The 2010 American FATCA law, and the 2014 Canadian agreement to implement it, allow this relic of the past to reach its tentacles across an international border and be applied here in Canada for the purpose of exposing the financial holdings of a vast number of Canadian citizens simply because they were born in the United States or are alleged to have some other US connection—possibly as minimal as calling their bank from a US location or mentioning US contacts in a conversation with a bank manager.

5. FWIW, received this today:

   Dear Patricia,

   Today the Vote Together campaign takes a big step forward.

   Today your crowdfunded election website goes live! Votetogether.ca is a one-stop shop jam-packed with all the tools, actions and riding-specific information you’ll need to end ten years of Harper rule and move Canada forward on October 19.

   Regardless of where you live, each and every one of us has a crucial role to play in the Vote Together campaign.
   Based on our records, you live in the riding of xoxoxo. Click here to visit our website, learn all about your riding and the most effective thing you can do to send the Conservatives packing on Election Day.

   Over the last 10 years, our broken “first-past-the-post” voting system has split our votes, distorted our democracy and delivered back-to-back-to-back wins to an unpopular government.

   But this time is different.

   This time we’ve got a groundswell of people-power informing, connecting and mobilizing voters to defeat the Harper Conservatives and elect a new government with a mandate to work together for a strong democracy, fair economy and clean environment.

   No matter where you live, we have a plan for how you can make a difference in the battleground ridings that’ll decide whether or not Harper gets to be Prime Minister again.
   Click here to check out our new election website today and see what you can do to end 10 years of Harper Conservative rule. You could be:

   • Talking to people in your community: Currently we have local teams going door-to-door in 12 target Conservative swing ridings, talking with their neighbours and inviting them to take the Vote Together pledge to defeat the local Conservative.

   • Joining our virtual phone team: Even if you don’t live in a Conservative swing riding, you can still talk to voters that do by joining one of our call teams. The tools are free and easy to use, and you can make calls right from your home.

   • Crowdfunding local polling: We can’t rely on national polls to tell us what’s going on in local ridings. We need to crowdfund local polling in the closest races to give voters the information they need to select and support the best local candidate to defeat the Harper Conservatives.

   • Signing the Vote Together pledge: If you haven’t already done it, sign the pledge to Vote Together to defeat the Conservatives in Conservative swing ridings. The larger the community of pledgers, the more crowdfunding we can do for local polling, and the closer we become to defeating Harper.

   While these all look like stand-alone actions, we need them all, working together, to achieve our common goal.

   We know the path to victory won’t be easy, but we also know that when the system doesn’t work for us, we have to step up and just. work. harder – together.

   Click here to visit Votetogether.ca, learn how to take action, and then please share it with everyone you know.

   http://www.votetogether.ca

   Thanks for all you do,
   Jamie, Britt, Amara, on behalf of the whole Leadnow.ca team
   ________________________________________
   Please support the Leadnow.ca community! We’re funded by people like you, and our small, dedicated team and growing community make sure your donation goes a long way. Every dollar helps. You can donate online at http://www.leadnow.ca/en/donate
   Leadnow.ca is an independent campaigning community that brings Canadians together to hold government accountable, deepen our democracy and take action for the common good. You can follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Google+. To contact us, you can reply to this email. This message was sent to xoxoxo because you previously signed on to a Leadnow.ca campaign. If you no longer want to be part of our campaigning community, you can unsubscribe from Leadnow.ca at any time.
   ________________________________________
   Leadnow.ca – À l’Action est une communauté indépendante qui souhaite réunir les Canadiens afin de demander des comptes au gouvernement, approfondir notre démocratie et passer à l’action pour le bien commun. Suivre sur Twitter, Facebook, et Google+. Ce courriel a été envoyé au xoxoxo. Vous pouvez vous désinscrire à tout moment.
   ________________________________________
   Leadnow.ca, PO Box 2091, Stn Terminal, Vancouver, BC, V6B 3T2 — 1 855 LEADN0W | 1 855 532 3609
   ________________________________________

6. @Tricia Moon

   I received this as well. It’s an interesting approach. They showed my riding and confirmed that boundaries have been changed. A Liberal victory in my BC riding, previously Conservative, is a possibility here. My only reservation is that they ask for donations at http://www.leadnow.ca/en/donate. Currently my donations are reserved for ADCS as I am on a budget. Yet we all need to consider voting strategically in the upcoming election.

7. Tricia and PatCanadian,

   I received as well and will, now that some time has been freed up, do my part for this important effort another way:

   Hi Carol —

   Our campaign is really gaining momentum in Calgary-Centre, and we hope you will join us at our upcoming events.

   Since early this year, we have been knocking on doors and connecting with hundreds of voters to tell them about the Vote Together campaign. If we want to prevent the Conservatives from gaining a seat in Calgary-Centre, we need to get out and talk even more. We have three upcoming events scheduled, where we will knock on doors in the riding, and we hope you’ll join us:

   Saturday, August 22nd
   Meet up outside the Inglewood Community Association at 3 p.m.
   Click here to RSVP.

   Monday, August 24th
   Meet up at Second Cup Marda Loop, 2205 33rd Ave SW at 6 p.m.
   Click here to RSVP.

   Wednesday, August 26th
   Meet up at Good Earth, 1502 11th St SW at 6 p.m.
   Click here to RSVP.

   Even if you haven’t done something like this before, we would love to have you out. It’s easier than you may expect, and our team of volunteers will work with you and provide all the materials needed to help you have meaningful conversations with voters.

   We also have a volunteer orientation scheduled for Tuesday, September 1st, where you can come meet our volunteers and learn how you can get involved in the campaign. Click here for more info to RSVP.

   You can keep up to date with our event schedule at we.leadnow.ca/calgary_events.

8. Related: *Don’t Vote for Me* — http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2015/08/20/gary-beamish-green-party-ndp_n_8017284.html

   A Green candidate in Ontario will reportedly tell voters this fall that, for the good of the country, they best not vote for him.

   Gary Beamish, running in the riding of Peterborough-Kawartha, told Peterborough This Week that he will urge his supporters to cast a ballot for the local NDP candidate instead.

9. Another Brocker emailed me that he sent his NDP candidate this link so the candidate would better understand the FATCA IGA issue for deemed *US Persons in Canada* and why the problem stems from US citizenship-based taxation when the rest of the world, including Canada, follows residence-based taxation: http://isaacbrocksociety.ca/introductory-material-on-fatca-info-session-synopsis-history-of-isaac-brock-society/.

   This NDP candidate said he has used the information in his door-to-door conversations as he was encountering *Americans* who were caught up in this problem. The NDP candidate indicated that he had not yet learned the NDP official policy on this and, personally, he was inclined to agree that *sharing this kind of information is not appropriate*.

   (Why is it not appropriate? Because there is Canadian litigation in progress; because Congress has spoken; or because the Canadian financial institutions are more important than our one segment of ALL Canadians who should be protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms?)

10. While not technically an election resource this is an incredible outline of why the Harper Government MUST NOTbe elected. Or, anytime you need a reason, pick one of the following 70. The article has descriptions for each item. Just looking at the list is….uh…wonderful!

    A Little Dubya Up in Canada: 70 Ways Prime Minister Harper Has Assaulted Democracy
    This guy is on a rampage.
    By David Beers, Tyee Staff / The Tyee
    August 10, 2015

    SECTION I. ABUSING PARLIAMENT: SABOTAGE, SCANDALS, CORRUPTION AND CONTEMPT
    This section includes examples of willful misgoverning by the PM and his team, 31 times they have lied, flouted rules and stymied democracy to achieve political and ideological ends.

    1. PMO Tied to Senate Hush Money Scandal
    2. Harper Found in Contempt of Parliament
    3. Against Court Order, Refusal to Share Budget Info
    4. Conservative Cabinet Staffers Granted Immunity from Testimony
    5. Conservatives Falsify Reports and Documents
    6. Repeated Duplicity in Afghan Detainees Controversy
    7. Repeated Duplicity on Costing of F-35 Fighter Jets
    8. Harper Minister Lies, Blames Statistics Canada for Killing Long Form Census
    9. Conservative MP Admits He Lied to Parliament
    10. Conservative House Leader Admits to Mockery of Question Period
    11. Harper Maligns the Supreme Court Chief Justice
    12. Conservatives Engage in Abuse of Process with Omnibus Bills
    13. Harperites Deliberately Sabotage, Stymie Committee System
    14. Harper’s Own MPs Protest Muzzling
    15. Conservative Bill Rewrites History to Protect Mounties from Potential Criminal Charges
    16. Harper Minister Caught in Advertising Scam with Public Funds
    17. Corrupt Conservative Cronies
    18. Access to Information System Impeded
    19. The Silencing of the Public Service
    20. Loyalty Oaths Imposed on Public Servants
    21. Harper Government Sued by Justice Department Whistleblower
    22. Conservatives Block Accreditation for Opposition MPs
    23. Tactic Borrowed from North Korea’s Dear Leader
    24. Clampdown on Freedom of Speech of Diplomatic Corps
    25. Marine Science Libraries Decimated
    26. UN Blasts Canada’s Treatment of Immigrants
    27. Harper Government Denies Khadr Basic Rights
    28. Illegitimate Prorogation of Parliament, Twice
    29. Undue Interference with Independent Agencies
    30. Billions Borrowed without Parliament’s Permission
    31. Lapdogs Appointed as Watchdogs

    SECTION II: ‘HARPER BRAND’ ABUSES: LIES, SPIES, AND THIS PORK SMELLS REALLY BAD

    This election began the minute the last one ended. Since his first day as PM, Stephen Harper has reinforced his party’s ‘brand’ by rewarding cronies, slapping the Conservative logo on government cheques, perfecting the no questions photo-op, instructing bureaucrats to start calling Canada’s government “the Harper Government.” The flip side has been relentless monitoring, muzzling and attacks on anyone who might tarnish the image. Here are 22 instances of power abused to build the Harper brand.

    32. PMO Attempts to Cover up Video Leak Putting Troops at Risk
    33. The ‘Harper Government’ Labelling Deception
    34. Conservatives Place Party Logos on Government of Canada Cheques
    35. Record Amounts of Partisan Political Advertising, on the Public Purse
    36. Conservatives Stack Their Own Ridings with Infrastructure Funds
    37. $50 Million Spending Deception as Documented by the Auditor General
    38. Patronage Run Amok
    39. Undermining Statistics Canada, Killing Data
    40. Government Muzzles Science Community
    41. Like Never Before, Limits Placed on Media Access
    42. Harper’s Team Tries to Ban Journalist for Asking Question
    43. Harper Minister Sucker Punches CBC Budget
    44. Suppression of Research
    45. The Vic Toews Porno Smear
    46. Harper’s Fallen Soldiers Blackout
    47. Protesters Put under Blanket Surveillance
    48. Rights and Democracy, Other Groups, Dismantled
    49. Harper Government Spied on Aboriginal Critic, ‘Retaliated’
    50. Revenue Canada Loosed to Attack Charities
    51. Conservatives Use Unheard of Tactic to Force through Anti-Union Bill
    52. Harper Smears Liberal Sikh MP, Insinuating Tie to Terrorism
    53. Veterans’ Advocates Smeared

    SECTION III: ELECTION ABUSES: SCAMS, SLIMES, STINGS AND CROOKED SPENDING

    Stephen Harper’s Conservatives have made federal elections a gladiators’ arena where anything goes — unless and until you are caught, that is. Here are 17 times his team violated election laws or ethics.

    54. Conservatives Run Undercover Sting Operations
    55. Conservative Convicted on Robocalls Scam
    56. Harper’s Ex-Parliamentary Secretary Jailed for Breaking Election Law
    57. ‘Reprehensible’ Dirty Tricks Campaign against Irwin Cotler
    58. Conservatives Bar Crosbie Candidacy
    59. Election Violations Prompt Resignation of Cabinet Member
    60. Conservatives Attempt Election Campaign Frame-up
    61. Harper’s Office Deploys Interns for Dirty Tricks
    62. Citizens Ejected from Conservative Rallies
    63. Conservatives Make Campaign Event Attendees Sign Gag Order
    64. Conservatives Unfix Their Own Fixed Date Election Law
    65. Guilty Plea on In and Out Affair
    66. Cons’ Elections Bill Strips Power from Elections Canada
    67. Harper Minister Smears Head of Elections Canada
    68. Copyright Grab for Attack Ads
    69. Conservatives Use Terrorists’ Propaganda in Attack Ad
    70. Record Use of Personal Attack Ads

11. This is great list but it could be *more greater* — 12. Conservatives Engage in Abuse of Process with Omnibus Bills is the closest it comes to the issue regarding *US Persons in Canada*.

12. That Democracy Watch link comes from Sid’s comment: http://isaacbrocksociety.ca/2015/05/03/99929-needed-in-94-more-days-to-make-the-100000-august-4-2015-payment-for-canadian-fatca-iga-lawsuit-il-nous-reste-99929-a-ramasser-pour-notre-poursuite-judiciaire/comment-page-73/#comment-6408598. Sid has been communicating here for some time about the work they’ve done — http://democracywatch.ca/. Hope other Canadians check out their site and work.

    Democracy Watch is a national non-profit, non-partisan organization, and Canada’s leading citizen group advocating democratic reform, government accountability and corporate responsibility.

    Democracy Watch is the most effective and successful national citizen advocacy group in Canada at winning systemic changes to key laws since it opened its doors in fall 1993 – it has won more than 110 changes to federal and provincial good government and corporate responsibility laws, many of which are world-leading.

    Democracy Watch’s website is the top citizen advocacy group website listed when you search the Internet using Google.ca and the search words “democracy” or “government ethics” or “money in politics” or “open government” or “honesty in politics” or “bank accountability” or “corporate responsibility”.

    Democracy Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=FLsl__Pb7ssplivLxfRHxDaw

13. Perhaps this could go as an update to the post. It verifies TO MY MIND all the misgivings I have about the why’s of Finance Minister James Flaherty resigning — and beyond! Can photoshop / technology magic have this, to me, REAL result?

    https://www.facebook.com/drigcanada/videos/895760827209726/?pnref=story

    Government for all Canadians, not just the wealthy | Facebook
    Watch Jim Flaherty’s reaction when Steve tells the House of Commons that Nigel Wright didn’t tell Ray Novak about the Duffy bribe.

    Bloody hell!

14. @calgary

    you can see the little box right on JF’s face? that is how it gets linked to the “real” video
    given the expressions are priceless, it makes me wonder just exactly what he WAS responding to

15. Tricia,

    Can you get from that little box (I think I can see a CBC logo but can’t find a box to click on) the real video link?

    I recall a similar video with Mr. Flaherty looking incredulous at something Harper said and I can find a video from October 23 or 24 Question Period with same subject matter — but it was not this one.

16. I found the video this clip came from: http://parlvu.parl.gc.ca/XRender/en/PowerBrowser/PowerBrowserV2/20131023/-1/13636 at about 2:29:28. October 23rd, 2013.

    RIP, Jim Flaherty.

17. EmBee shared with us her terrific version of the “Harperman” song in a comment on another thread and I’m reposting here. Thanks, EmBee!

    “Who attacks our charter rights?
    Harperman, Harperman
    Who ends up in courtroom fights?
    Harperman, Harperman
    The FATCA sellout travesty
    Is now in court for all to see
    Harperman, it’s time for you to go

    Who invades our privacy?
    Harperman, Harperman
    Who plans this in secrecy?
    Harperman, Harperman
    Makes our banks follow U.S. law
    I.D. theft is the tragic flaw
    Harperman, it’s time for you to go

    CHORUS
    We want you gone, gone, gone
    You and your pawn, pawn, pawns
    No more con, con, cons
    Time to move on, on, on
    Get out of town, town, town
    Don’t want you round, round, round
    Harperman, it’s time for you to go”

    EmBee also mentioned in her comment: “They put Tony Turner on leave for writing this protest song but they can’t stop people from chiming in with more verses. BTW, his YouTube video doubled its hits in the past few days.” http://harperman.ca/

18. In an attempt to get clarification on Justin Trudeau’s statements, I have sent this:

    Sent: Sunday, August 30, 2015 1:49 PM
    To: Matt Grant ; Scott Brison
    Subject: A question for the Liberal Party Leader and the Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act

    Dear Confederation Calgary Liberal Candidate and Honourable Liberal Member of Parliament Scott Brison,

    Many Canadians were pleased to hear Mr. Trudeau’s new statements regarding Canadian citizenship equality, but some of us need further clarification.

    For all *US Persons in Canada*, can you please get an answer from your Party Leader, Justin Trudeau, to the following specific questions. No political generalities please.

    Mr. Trudeau — are there differences in *second-class Canadians* — the ones you refer to regarding the Bill C-24, Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act?

    As part of the slippery slope now enabled in Canada — the march in legislation

    – from Bill C-31 (making *US Persons in Canada* second-class to any others by virtue of place of birth of an individual or the individual’s parent(s)
    – to Bill C-51, with definitions of *terrorist*
    – to Bill C-24 to exile and banish certain of Canada’s second-class citizens (even if born in Canada),

    Do you consider US-deemed US citizens in Canada *US citizens who happen to reside in Canada* (including even those born in Canada and have never lived or had any benefit from the USA)?

    or,

    Do you consider US-deemed US citizens in Canada the very same as any other second-class Canadian as part of your statements

    “Liberals will guarantee that all Canadians’ fundamental rights are respected as guided by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.”

    “Canadian citizenship should not be conditional. A Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian.”

    “All Canadians need to know that their government has their back.”?

    Specific and straight answers to the above questions will help determine for many the way we will vote on October 19. I will pass Mr. Trudeau’s answer on to one-issue *US-deemed US Person* Canadians, who are now also deemed second-class citizens in Canada by the Conservative government.

    We want to absolutely know from Mr. Trudeau if he will fight for our same rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms as those Charter rights of all other Canadians .

    Thank you for your help in asking this question on our behalf.

    Sincerely and respectfully,

    Carol Tapanila

    Calgary, AB, Canada

19. I have just cross-posted from MapleSandbox the NDP response to Lynne Swanson for the ADCS-ADSC letter to all Party Leaders, as well as the previous reply from Justin Trudeau, Liberal Party Leader.

    http://isaacbrocksociety.ca/2015/08/31/how-will-us-deemed-us-persons-in-canada-vote-on-october-19th-there-is-now-an-adcs-adsc-reply-from-the-ndp-party-to-compare-to-the-reply-from-the-liberal-party/

20. Watching the polls and projections:
    I found this (riding by riding projections) …
    http://www.threehundredeight.com/p/canada.html
    More info here …
    http://www.cbc.ca/news2/interactives/poll-tracker/2015/index.html
    Results from 2011 election …
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Results_by_riding_of_the_Canadian_federal_election,_2011

    Watching youtube videos for protest songs:
    Tony Turner’s terrific “Harperman, it’s time for you to go”
    https //www.youtube.com/watch?t=51&v=Ei50lM6ab1c (replace the colon)
    Cathy Cook’s beautiful bluesy “Stephen Harper sure hates me” (there’s 2 of these)
    https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqXcwTVv22asR_LC6Ek78yw
    John Roby’s clever “Steve, it’s time to leave”

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLfbp-HEylU (replace the colon)

21. Well, I got a response to the “FATCA primer” e-mail I sent to my NDP candidate and I think it’s a quite a reasonable one …

    Dear xxxx,

    Thank you for bringing this issue to my attention. I had not heard about it before. I’ve read and re-read your email a few times since receiving it and have tried to understand it more. Your background is excellent.

    I was happy to see MP Nathan Cullen’s name in the email, as he is someone I, and my campaign manager, know from my day-job running the Canadian Geothermal Energy Association (www.cangea.ca) Nathan has a geothermal power project in his riding and has been a vocal supporter of it.

    I will be sure to reach out to him to better understand this issue.

    “A Foothills for All”
    alison

    Alison Thompson, NDP
    http://www.alisonthompson.ca

    Note: Even 1000 words can fall short of explaining FATCA to someone unfamiliar with it but I’m very pleased that Alison Thompson has the curiosity to explore this issue more. Perhaps she’ll even bring it up with the Con incumbent in a debate/forum … if he shows up. The Con MPs/candidates sometimes follow their PM and avoid these affairs.

22. Thanks for sharing the email you got back from your NDP candidate, EmBee. (I’m still waiting to hear from my NDP candidate to whom I’ve extended an invitation to learn about US FATCA law in Canada.)

23. For the Canadian Election: “Long-term expats find loophole in voting ban but casting their ballot will be costly!”

24. Canadian – Australian connection, Harper turns to a wizard from Oz:

    Macleans, “Australian campaign whiz Lynton Crosby is coming to Canada to help the Conservatives”

25. I enjoy watching the videos people post of their Harperman song singalongs. There’s something about that song that boosts my spirits and with “Justice” Martineau’s ruling, boosts are needed. If you’re on a downbeat right now, take a peek here (it might help):
    http://harperman.ca/post-your-own-video/
    The one from Parkdale has subtitles — a nice touch.
    I noticed our Atticus is back to tweeting (https://twitter.com/AtticusinCanada) and she chimed in at the Kingston singalong. I hope she’ll start posting again at Brock.

Comments are closed.