This weekend I spoke at length with a concerned Canadian citizen (ChearsBigEars) who believes that the time to launch the mother of all class actions lawsuits against the banks has already arrived. Why should we wait until the banks actually deprive Canadian citizens of their Charter rights? What if the banks are already in the process of planning to violate those rights? Would that not constitute a conspiracy to violate their rights?
Suppose TD Bank decided to ban some minority–let’s say anyone who is not white. Now they put out an advertisement that they wish to hire a bouncer who will stand at the door and prevent non-white people from entering the bank. Would those people who are about to have their rights violated have to wait until they were bounced or could they go ahead and launch a lawsuit based upon a conspiracy to violate Charter rights? My contact suggests that we can go ahead and sue the banks in a class action lawsuit and that we should do it right away, and it should be for one billion CDN dollars, to reflect the seriousness of this rights violation and the actual damages that are being inflicted by the United States as a result of the banks’ plan to implement FATCA. We can do this because TD Bank (et al.) has put out placement ads asking for FATCA compliance officers–not to mention the hundreds of millions of dollars that they have already spent putting a system in place to discriminate against comfortable and concerned clients. Here is plea that he sent me to share with the readers of the Isaac Brock Society:
FATCA CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT HELP NEEDED
We are currently investigating launching a Class Action Lawsuit against one of the major Canadian banks. The lawsuit will claim that the bank is conspiring to deprive Canadians of their rights under The Charter of Rights and Freedoms by advertising unlawfully for applicants for a job category designed to allow a hostile foreign power to harass and deprive certain large groups of their basic rights to live as other Canadians with equal rights to access to banking and other financial instruments.
Equality before and under law and equal protection and benefit of law
- 15. (1) Every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination and, in particular, without discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability.
If there are any constitutional and or class action attorney groups out there please contact us ASAP (petros at isaacbrocksociety dot ca).
WHY JOIN A CLASS ACTION?
- Joining a class action is a way to have your disputes resolved in a low-risk, low-cost manner. In most circumstances, class actions are pursued on a contingency fee basis, meaning that class counsel is only paid if a settlement or court award is achieved. Class counsel fees would then be paid out of the settlement or award.
- Joining a class action requires little effort on your part. In most circumstances, you are not required to provide any documentation until the case has been resolved either through settlement or court award. At that stage, you would simply be required to file a claim form.
- Class actions provide a mechanism for pursing claims of relatively small monetary value. Unfortunately, the costs of litigating is often prohibitive to pursuing one’s legal rights. By bringing an action on behalf of hundreds, or thousands of individuals, class actions make it possible to pursue claims that would otherwise be uneconomical.
- Class actions provide a mechanism for leveling the playing field with defendants that often have significant resources. Again, by bringing an action on behalf of hundreds, or thousands of individuals, class actions provide for greater bargaining power on the part of the injured parties.
- The class proceeding legislation contains many safeguards to ensure that the rights of class members are protected. For example, any settlement reached in a class action must be approved by the court as being fair, reasonable and in the best interests of class members.
I think the time to act is now. I disagree that any particular person needs to have his rights violated.. All of our rights and protections under the Charter are now being violated due to a conspiracy among all the banks to violate our rights and security and disrupt our lives. “Intend” is an interesting word. Intent is a hinge pin in verdicts. It is 100% the intent of our banks to violate the Charter. That in itself is a crime and does damage to our sense of security under the charter of which we are also entitled. Read this carefully. Either the banks are engaging in HATE CRIMES by advocating singling out Americans with Canadian citizenship or they are ignoring that we “are all equal before and under the law and have the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination and, in particular, without discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability.”
Sorry if this is too simplified for some to understand but advocating hate and discrimination IS a violation of our rights as a minority in Canada. I posit that if there are some lawyers versed in the constitution that can’t understand simple English (French) then they need to do some soul searching and ask themselves why they are even practicing “constitutional law” in the first place and what kind of love they have for this country that allows them to even practice and make a living……OR they need to go back to law school.
Currently there are about 30 different class action firms who have filed a CAL against Blackberry, Pretium Resources, you name it. There are dozens of them and just because one firm decides to file one doesn’t mean that others cannot start their own. We need to call every damn one of them in this country until one of them, or more, go to bat for us now. Also there must be hundreds and hundreds of lawyers in Canada that have dual status. Again, we appeal to someone to take this very easy case and do something now if for not other reason than a warning to the banks to be very very careful. In my opinion there are lots of chicken attorneys out there who stand for nothing but money. We will meet many of them but all we need here is a few with the love of our country and real integrity. We will have our day in court one way or the other but we want it NOW! Enough is enough.
@Gwen, except that many have already been forced to fill out paperwork, declaring if they are an indicated US person in preparation of FATCA. Others have had the accounts frozen. The process is already being implemented. A creative lawyer could make a case out of this.
Also, intent is a mental process. Suppose I intend to harm someone, but I do nothing to fulfill my intent. The law is not broken. But conspiracy is more than that. If I hire a hitman to kill that person, I’ve committed conspiracy to commit murder. The banks have hired FATCA officers with the sole purpose of implementing a procedure whereby they can systematically deprive Canadians of their rights. This is far beyond intent. This is spending money to pay the salaries of the hitmen, the Delores Umbridges.
A few years ago, I opened a trading account for my wife and I refused to fill out paperwork for the US (neither a W8BEN or a W9) and said that she wouldn’t be trading in the US and she wouldn’t need to make any declaration to the US. They let her open the account. Now if you do that, they show people the door. We’ve had testimonies to this effect on this website.
@GeorgeIII, Lubetsky is full of it. FATCA implementation in Canada would be violation of Canadian sovereignty and of the Charter rights of Canadian citizens. To say otherwise, shows that one has no concept of justice. Believe me, this issue does not play well in the eyes of the Canadian public. Once people realize what it is all about.
I agree that we should pursue this even if there’s no hope in hell of winning. It’s the optics that really count. The reaction to this on both sides of the border is that FATCA is an abomination. It’s just a matter of finding someone who’ll take it on.
Petros get the best lawyer you can to fight it. I am just showing an article counter to Hogg. The English Common law is based on precedent and I rather wait a little while longer for the best case to be made. If Blaze wants to hire Avery great.
For persons who want to pursue a second opinion to the one we’ve gotten and is still maintained, go for it. Second opinions can certainly be sought and those courses of action also discussed.
There can also be an Aboriginal challenge based on Aboriginal’s people’s rights being violated. This would most likely be in the Aboriginal court system.It would be a huge case as well.
Ok Petros! If the banks in Canada have done that to people, then there is absolutely a case! Lets go for it!
The lawsuit the Avry was on standby to file was against the government, was it not? In that sense, it makes sense to wait for an IGA, but what Petros is talking about is a lawsuit against the banks. Does Avry think we don’t have a case against the banks now? Perhaps he has not even looked at it from this angle.
My gut tells me, we have a case against the banks now, and MAYBE the government later. No one said we could only file one law suit. However, my gut, is not a lawyer. I would love to know if Avry has considered a lawsuit against the banks at all, or is focused only on the government.
Just to interject. It’s Joe Arvay we are speaking about.
http://www.arvayfinlay.com/lawyers/j-arvay.htm
Areas of Practice:
* Constitutional and Administrative Law
* Aboriginal Law
* Commercial Litigation
* Employment Law
* Human Rights Law
* Medical Malpractice Law
* Personal Injury
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@Em, Ooops! Before you know it, I will be writing FACTA again!
Would it be appropriate to contact Jameel Jaffer,legal director of the ACLU.?
I have limited knowledge of the legal system. Any opinions as to whether this might be
in his wheelhouse?
@ Border Baby
The ACLU website showed no hits for FATCA when I searched it. They should be interested so I see no problem contacting them about FATCA. All I found so far is an article saying the ACLU has not shown any interest in FATCA …
http://www.nassauinstitute.org/articles/article1168.ph
The CCLU sent a speaker to the Toronto Forum (Abby Deshman) and I believe they are sympathetic but I’m not sure what action they are prepared to take on our behalf. Others have had direct contact with the CCLU so I’ll leave it up to them to add more information.
http://isaacbrocksociety.ca/2012/12/24/fatca-fact-finding-forum-video-link/
Canadian lawyer Jameel Jaffer penned the article “An ally or a Spy Target ,but not Both”
I see a connection.
Petros
It should be noted that brokerage client agreement allow them to be shut down by either party within 30 days. They may send you the physical certificates in the case you do not open another account.
I get back to my question are transfer agent for people who want to own physical certificates of stocks or provincial bonds subject to FACTA?
I think schubert can confirm this as well.
Most of my equity have lots of unrealized capital gains and I probably will hold on for Canadian dividends. I also own Provincial bonds. set up in a bond ladder.
I heard the most inspiring quote attributed to Rosa Parks yesterday, on the 58th anniversary of her act of protest and subsequent arrest:
“You must never be fearful about what you are doing when it is right.”
RIGHT ON, ROSA!
Bubblestin if Rosa Parks was alive today would she supports FACTA, FBAR & CBT?
Does the NAACP support Obama tax agenda?
The NAACP was supporting everything Obama.
FATCA is all about redistributing wealth outside the jurisdiction of the United States to recipients of the largesse of government: government employees, unions and recipients of social assistance.
Petros
My other post questions are more important to look at?
I do not want to argue too much politics, here I was just trying to make a point.
I am a practical person looking for solutions for Canadians at this website. I am not much into essay writing.
@GeorgeIII @Petros
If advertising a job for FATCA administrator indicates support for FATCA, I’d say that the NAACP does:
http://www.naacpjobfinder.com/jobs/ais-fatca-admin-manager-officer
Kind of ironic that NAACP would advertise placing someone in the position as overseer to US policies that force a foreign country’s institutions to discriminate against United States Persons based on national origin.
@BubbleBustin
Maybe someone should ask them why they do Support FATCA. Do they know the Facts or are they just listening to their FA..
@all, please continue the discussion here: http://isaacbrocksociety.ca/2013/12/04/conspiracy-lawsuit-against-td-bank-ii/
I am about close off the comments to this post.
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