The CCLA is widely respected and can get the real story in the media.
See their statements.
http://ccla.org/2012/12/04/ccla-registers-privacy-concerns-over-ongoing-canada-u-s-information-exchange-negotiations/
http://ccla.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/2012-12-04-Letter-to-Dpt-of-Finance.pdf
Contact them. NOW!
http://ccla.org/contact/
FATCA IGA represents the wholesale surrender of Canadian banking privacy.
BRAVO CCLA, and bravo to all Brockers and Sandboxes who were instrumental in keeping CCLA informed and involved (they know who they are, and I don’t know all of them so I won’t name any to avoid leaving someone out).
Please, everyone who is concerned with civil liberties and rights, no matter what your national origin or political orientation, check out CCLA’s website and seriously consider joining them or at least donating to them. They are a vital, non-partisan, and essential component of Canadian society, democracy, and rule of law, providing an independent oversight on our governments and corporations to protect “the little person” and all of us. They deserve your support.
Full disclosure: I’m a member of CCLA, but I am ashamed to admit that I never joined until last year, because of FATCA and when finally realizing that civil rights affect all of us. No matter which minority the government goes after, if any government or corporation targets any minority in Canada, we all ultimately are or can become targets. All of us is a member of some minority or another; very few people are ever always in the majority on every dimension governed under the Charter and under law. In any country.
I’m the same. I became very aware of them related to the G20 and joined as you did re: FATCA. They are wonderful lovely and also tough people. We could not have better allies.
We need them to comment on these current developments. Yes, letters are in order.
Please note the letter was issued in December 2012; it is important that they follow up on this. If you’re already a member, or even if you aren’t (but do mention that you are, if so), please everyone write to them and urge them to repeat these concerns in light of the agreement. As I said in my letter to them, the second of the indicia listed in the agreement “unambiguous indication of a US birthplace” is as straightforward and outrageous a violation of Section 15 of the Charter, prohibiting discrimination on the basis of ethnic or national origin, as I can imagine ever being in a government document or agreement. This isn’t just about privacy concerns; it’s about rights under the Charter as well. No government or corporation operating in Canada has any right or business to be trolling their paper or electronic records, never mind asking questions of account holders or applicants, whether they were born in ANY foreign country.
I just joined. There is a symposium in March in Toronto.. Maybe we can get help. Maybe contact the CCLU beforehand if they can discuss privacy in relation to FATCA.
http://ccla.org/home/pathways2privacy/
I joined and signed up for the symposium.
@atticusincanada
I signed up too!…..We can meet up there. I am excited.
I always wanted to join the CCLU…. It is nice because my late hubby when he lived in the USA before coming up here was a ACLU member.
I signed up also. There are two parts to this free event.
March 20, 2014 | 6:00 – 8:30 pm. Public Panel Discussion & Privacy Fair Venue TBA.
March 21, 2014 | 8:30 am – 5:00 pm. Pathways to Privacy Symposium: …
W could meet for dinner prior on March 20 and/or lunch March 21
@JoeSmith
sounds good. You can get my email from the moderators.
Are we just 3 so far?
@joe, northernstar, atticus, will see if I can attend too.
AND,
For those who can’t travel to Toronto,; the CCLA symposium site says that there will be live web coverage:
“…..Sessions will be open to the public but they will also be recorded and broadcast via a live webcast to ensure greater accessibility. The event materials and sessions will also be available in both English and French.”
http://ccla.org/home/pathways2privacy/
Joe, Badger, and all,
I just registered and my non-U.S person spouse (unlike me she is not toxic) wants to attend too. I will pass the word and ask others to attend.
Remember that there will a talk specifically on FATCA and privacy by Queens University Prof Cockfield:
3:15-4:30 Panel 4: Privacy and Financial Information
Financial information is often highly personal and is perceived as requiring strong privacy protection, yet it is also information much in demand by private sector agencies seeking to market financial services to governments, citizens and other corporations. This panel presents OPC-funded research focusing on the current privacy issues in the financial arena.
A. Plourde, Option Consommateurs, “New services provided by credit agencies.”
A. Gentzoglanis, University of Sherbrooke “Fraud and Privacy Violation Risks in the Financial Aggregation Industry.”
A. Cockfield, Queens University, “The Privacy Implications of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA).”
We will ask questions to Prof. Cockfield.
As Joe says maybe we can all meet for lunch or something and talk strategy.
@Badger. and IRS
Good to hear you are coming. Give me an email .
I hope we all can meet up. for dinner etc and talk strategy as IRS says.
That sounds good. IRS, Joe, Atticus, Badger and me.
Also sounds good it being live web coverage . And recorded. too.
Done. Registered for all three.
I will never forget how adament Abby D was the day of the FATCA Fact Finding Forum. She was clearly horrified and very clear about the fact that all of this was definitely against the Charter.
as we get closer we can arrange dinner perhaps Mercurio on the North side or Fox and Fiddle around 4:30. bloor and st. george…
https://maps.google.ca/maps?ie=UTF-8&q=mercurios+st+,+george&fb=1&gl=ca&hq=mercurios+st+,+george&ei=V-b2UprlAcjh2QWN7YHwDg&ved=0CJABELYD
@Joe Smith
Sounds good. Both sound good. and it sounds like we are growing.
For newbies who aren’t familiar with Abby Deshman (CCLU) and the Toronto FATCA Forum (December 2012) here’s the video:
This is my first post on this wonderful, life-saving blog which I have been reading almost since the day of it’s inception in December 2011. Although I now have a thick file of emails and letters I have sent to Canadian politicians, ACA and other organizations, my husband has preferred that I not take a public stand on any blog. But on Feb. 5, that fateful day, he finally said, “Go for it!”
I have a question for you about the CCLA. I wrote to Abby Deshman just after the December meeting in Toronto in 2012 and received a lovely reply almost immediately. I wrote to her again on Wednesday night but have heard nothing back. Maybe she is swamped! But I also see that the only mention of FATCA on their website is the notification of Mr. Cockfield’s participation in the panel at the March Symposium. There is nothing on their homepage about FATCA although other items dated Feb. 5 are there. Did I just not see it? Is this issue really of any major importance to them any more? If not, why not? Do any of you who have been connected with CCLA for a long time know what is happening? Their website doesn’t give me a lot of confidence at the moment but I want to believe that they would help.
Hello, Atticus! You and I have corresponded. It’s so good to be here, finally!
Good to hear from you MuzzledNoMore! Our Conservative Government’s capitulation will be the straw that breaks the backs of many, or is that “breaks the banks of many”.
Joe,
Some of us went to the Bar Mercurio trying to recuperate after the Diane Francis talk– and liked the restaurant.
Speaking of DF, I wonder how she feels about Canada’s negotiated surrender to the US.
Bubblebustin,
Ms. Diane Francis has no opinion on the IGA or even on FATCA as she was unable to explain to the audience the meaning of the words at her lecture.
Yes I know of course that Ms. Francis is one of the senior business editors of Canada’s Financial Post, but would you mind, as a courtesy, sending her an email explaining to her the meaning of these terms and just letting her know what happened last week?
Thanks
Bar Mercurio is on the southeast corner, the other one is on northwest.
Just spoke with Abby Deshman, Says Court Case won’t be easy. I suggested a Principled Statement that other can use in the political and media realm…
What in the world is the CCLU for if its not for our civil liberties which have been abrogated by our own government? I truly hope the CCLU will not just sit back, wring their hands and say this is awful but it’s just too hard to fight. I expect better than this and I hope the CCLU will step up and help us.