Liberty and justice for all United States persons abroad

The Isaac Brock Society

Canadian FATCA IGA lawsuit: November 1, 2014 legal bill will be paid on time! / Poursuite canadienne contre la FATCA et le gouvernement canadien : nos frais légaux du 1er novembre 2014 seront payés à temps !

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[We now have a NEW POST taking us up to February 1, 2015. This post will be retired from service.]

THE AUTUMN 2014 UPDATE

Dear Donors,

Together, we reached our goal of $100,000 to pay the November 1 legal bill 11 days ahead of schedule!

Thank you Canadian donors from coast to coast and our friends from around the world for your generosity, support and determination — and especially for not being afraid.

The name of our non-profit corporation is the “Alliance for the Defence of Canadian Sovereignty.”

We were very deliberate in including in our name the word “sovereignty”, which forms a cornerstone of our Claims against the Government of Canada.

Canada and dozens of other countries throughout the world gave into a bully because their “leaders” were afraid of harm caused by a trading “partner” — and they gave their sovereignties away.

Help us convince by example the Leaders and Governments of all countries worldwide that they should return their sovereignties back to their Peoples.

Please continue to support our lawsuit.

“Alone we can do so little. Together we can do so much.” (Helen Keller)

— Plaintiffs Ginny and Gwen, and the ADCS-ADSC team

Chers donateurs,

Ensemble, nous avons atteint notre but d’amasser 100 000 $ pour payer notre facture légale du 1er novembre 11 jours d’avance !

Un gros merci à vous, donateurs canadiens, et à nos amis de tous les coins du monde pour votre grande générosité, soutien et détermination. Et surtout pour votre courage.

Le nom de notre organisme sans but lucratif est « l’Alliance pour la défense de la souveraineté canadienne ».

Nous avons choisi délibérément le mot « souveraineté » puisqu’il constitue la base fondamentale de nos revendications envers le gouvernement du Canada.

Le Canada et des dizaines d’autres pays se sont pliés devant l’intimidation des États-Unis parce que leurs « leaders » ont eu peur des menaces de notre « partenaire » commercial. Ils ont donc vendu leur souveraineté à rabais.

Aidez-nous à convaincre les dirigeants et les gouvernements de tous ces pays qu’ils se doivent de remettre leur souveraineté à leurs peuples.

S’il vous plaît, continuez à soutenir notre cause.

« Seuls, nous pouvons faire si peu. Ensemble, nous pouvons faire beaucoup. » (Helen Keller)

— Ginny, Gwen et toute l’équipe de l’ADCS-ADSC

DONATE to www.adcs-adsc.ca (ADSC en français).

2,221 thoughts on “Canadian FATCA IGA lawsuit: November 1, 2014 legal bill will be paid on time! / Poursuite canadienne contre la FATCA et le gouvernement canadien : nos frais légaux du 1er novembre 2014 seront payés à temps !”

  1. Now we (Plaintiff Gwen with interview, ADCS mentioned) are in the Wall Street Journal I but do not know if you have to pay to view:

    http://online.wsj.com/articles/expats-in-canada-sue-over-u-s-effort-to-collect-taxes-abroad-1407856738

    Please provide comments in the WSJ article as the Canada Finance “concession” statement at the end of the article is misleading.

    Also Financial Post just picked up story in brief mention.

    http://business.financialpost.com/2014/08/12/canadian-government-faces-constitutional-challenge-over-fatca-deal/

    Everyone please comment in these articles. In the FP article perhaps you could comment with providing ADCS website.

  2. good news coverage. but the WSJ article still refers to the plaintiffs as “American Expatriates”. what a joke

  5. @Stephen Kish, “Thank you for your SEVENTH donation which we gratefully received today.”

    I need to do better. My donations are pale in light of the bravery of the plaintiffs.

    I will send you an email to pass on to them for encouragement.

  6. This just sent to me by email by northernstar:

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

    August 12, 2014

    CANADIANS FIGHT BACK AGAINST CONSERVATIVE TAX SNOOPING LAW
    New lawsuit challenges Conservative FATCA implementation

    VICTORIA – A Conservative attempt to impose invasive US tax laws on Canadians has hit a snag as a group of citizens have filed a lawsuit in the Federal Court alleging that the legislation is unconstitutional.

    “We heard very clearly that this law would harm the privacy of a million Canadians and was likely unconstitutional” said NDP National Revenue Critic Murray Rankin (Victoria). “New Democrats repeatedly moved to block its passage and avoid the legal mess the Conservatives have now put themselves in.”

    The lawsuit, filed yesterday in Federal Court by the Alliance for the Defence of Canadian Sovereignty, seeks to overturn the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) implementation legislation and prevent the handing over of personal financial information of up to a million Canadians to the IRS.

    “The Conservatives ignored expert warnings and pushed through this bad legislation,” said Rankin, “To add insult to injury, they will no doubt spend taxpayer money defending their invasive tax snooping in the courts.”

  7. Badger, yes…

    Don Whiteley was one of the first journalists in Canada to take an interest in telling the world that FATCA is a bad law — and he was a good friend to all of us.

    He would have enjoyed this, especially with a fellow Vancouver native as the litigator.

  8. Don Whiteley still guides a lot of what we are doing — and we do it to carry on his work as well!!!

  10. THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU!!! to Gwen and Ginny for your outstanding action on behalf of every one of us who are in danger of being run over by the now-proverbial FATCA bus. THANK YOU also to Stephen and everyone else for driving the *ADCS bus* which is now gearing up to run over FATCA! As one of those who had a hand in writing the Human Rights Complaint I am also beyond thrilled that you included mention of it in your press release. The publicity today for both initiatives has been fantastic. Let’s keep it going!

  11. Thank you, Gwen, Ginny, Stephen, and all the others that have made this possible!

    Now that we’ve got the lawsuit launched, would it make sense to press the Liberals and NDP for a commitment to immediately refer the IGA to the Supreme Court should they win power?

    This would seem to be a win-win situation. It would save us time and money; and it would give the new government an opportunity to embarrass the old (CPC) government and highlight its incompetence.

    Not to mention that this is probably something that should have been done from the get-go.

  12. @TDOTT, “Now that we’ve got the lawsuit launched, would it make sense to press the Liberals and NDP for a commitment to immediately refer the IGA to the Supreme Court should they win power?”

    Thats clever and brilliant.

  13. I left a note on the As It Happens website, cut and pasted from the press release, with links to the press release, the claim, and to ADCS.

  15. Pacifica, I believe that this article is based in part on an interview I gave a few hours ago.

    The article in Le Journal is very significant for me because, as I mentioned to the journalist, ADCS has so far (because we just don’t have the people) done a poor job in reaching out to the Francophone community, especially those in Quebec.

    The Quebecers I speak to tell me that most people in the province are not aware of the existence of FATCA (or CBT) or the harm it will cause.

    Is there any Francophone willing to help be a spokesperson for us and for your community? If so please contact me on the ADCS website.

    La FATCA contestée en Cour fédérale!!!

    Stephen,
    l’Alliance pour la défense de la souveraineté canadienne

  17. Pacifica,

    Thanks for collecting these links. It has given me what I needed in one spot to catch up after having to be away for half of the day. Good work, Pacifica. Good work, everyone!!!

    Ginny and Gwen — again, you are our heroes.

  19. My biggest thank-you to the plaintiffs and everyone who’s played a part in making this lawsuit happen. I would wish you good luck, but with righteousness on your side, you won’t need any.

  20. Picked up by Republicans Overseas 22 minutes ago.

    Has anyone done a blast email to Canadian MPs?

    US Senators? Congressmen?

  21. This has just made my day. I am full of gratitude for our brave plaintiffs Gwen & Ginny as well as Stephen and everyone else who has helped make this happen. Thank you so much.

  22. @George

    I tweeted both my MP and congressman. My congressman might find it of particular interest – he’s Bill Posey.

  23. My Gratitude to all.
    @Northern Shrike- I’ve backed you up sending links to As it Happens, The Current, and The Sunday Edition

  24. I have sent to some Canadian MPs but not all of them. Perhaps I can do that tomorrow. US Senators and Congressmen – someone else. I am a Canadian.

  25. One of the best comments today at Robert Woods, Forbes, August 12, 2014: Canadians File Suit To Block FATCA And Prohibit Handover Of U.S. Names To IRS and, of course, from someone so clear as James Jatras (http://www.repealfatca.com/):

    Robert,

    re: “Besides, even if the Canadian IGA fails, can’t Canadian banks then still voluntarily comply with FATCA and submit data to the U.S.? I think so.”

    Maybe, but I doubt it. It can’t be stressed too much that the main purpose of the IGAs — which even U.S. Treasury has admitted — is to abrogate other countries’ privacy laws (like Canada has) that prohibit providing a non-authorized party private information. The Canadian domestic law challenged in this suit in effect creates a legal exception to that prohibition. If the suit succeeds, that exception is closed. In order to comply directly, without an IGA, Canadian banks would then be faced with trying to strong-arm clients singled out for their “American indicia” to allow “voluntary” disclosure of their information under threat of closing their accounts. The trouble with that is that, if the IGA is nullified by the Canadian courts, it would be in large part because of discrimination against Canadians like the plaintiffs for their national origins. It’s then unlikely that direct enforcement by banks ON THE SAME DISCRIMINATORY BASIS would fly, either. I suspect that if the IGA goes down, Canadian banks would then be left without the ability to comply and Treasury having to consider sanctioning our biggest trading partner — which I doubt they would. At that point, FATCA becomes a virtual dead letter in Canada, and probably altogether.

    o Called-out comment

    I haven’t disagreed with anything James Jatras has authored before, so this opinion gives me comfort! I’ve tried to write that on my hand for easy reference, but it just won’t fit.

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