UPDATE SEPTEMBER 19, 2015: SEE ALSO DISCLAIMER AND LITIGATION UPDATES.
[This post, which began in May and having over 1000 revisions and 2000 comments, is being retired from service and updates. It lived through the success of reaching a total of $500,000 in donations from our kind, dear supporters who had little money to give, the hope and disappointment with the summary trial decision, and the certainty that we are now finally moving on to the Charter trial.]
CANADIAN CHARTER TRIAL UPDATE:
— We have instructed the Arvay team to prepare for the “Constitutional-Charter” trial. This means that our focus now, as it was in the beginning of our lawsuit, is on the Charter trial.
Unless there is a new expense in the future that we have not anticipated, the monies from your donations will be sufficient to take us through the “constitutional-charter” trial in Federal Court. However, to pay other legal bills we will need additional donations from our supporters, and a request for donations will appear on another post soon.
OUR LITIGATION HISTORY:
One year ago, on August 11, 2014, Litigator Joseph Arvay filed a FATCA IGA lawsuit in Canada Federal Court on behalf of Plaintiffs Ginny and Gwen, the Alliance for the Defence of Canadian Sovereignty (en français), and all peoples.
Because of a Government delay we initiated a “summary trial”, using a portion of the arguments, which offered the possibility of preventing private banking information from being turned over to the IRS before September 30, 2015. See Alliance’s Claims, our Alliance blog, and AUGUST 4-5 SUMMARY TRIAL FILINGS in LITIGATION UPDATES.
I don’t know anything about this LM, but Kermit works at UBC. Maybe he knows more…
@LM and Bubblebustin – here’s the website:
Conferences & Accommodation at The University of British Columbia – Vancouver https://reserve.ubcconferences.com/vancouver/availability.asp
Looks very reasonable! There are also quite a few airbnb rooms within cab distance for between $35-80 a night as well when I looked.
Let’s try that link again:
https://reserve.ubcconferences.com/vancouver/logon.asp?showStartHere=
@Bubblebustin @GwEvil
Thank you for the housing suggestions! I will most likely stay at one of the UBC “hostel” options.
I’m always on the lookout for a good retort to those who poo-poo those of us who DO care about privacy. This is the best I’ve found so far:
“Arguing that you don’t care about the right to privacy because you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don’t care about free speech because you have nothing to say.” — Edward Snowden
@EmBee
I always reply
“Then why not let anyone into your house to sort through all your drawers , look at all your finances and open all your mail”?
@ heidi
Oh, I like that one too. Thanks!
@Embee
Excellent find:
“Arguing that you don’t care about the right to privacy because you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don’t care about free speech because you have nothing to say.” — Edward Snowden
and @Heidi
Excellent creation:
“Then why not let anyone into your house to sort through all your drawers, look at all your finances and open all your mail”?
EmBee and Heidi: Great quotes! Thanks!
If anyone is making a list of court attendees for August 4/5 please put my name on it.
I deeply regret not being able to attend such a historic event. Will be with you Brockers in spirit.
I don’t care how dry the proceedings might be, I would have loved to see and hear the federal government’s agents justify its dereliction of the federal duty of care towards Canadian citizens, residents and taxpayers by having chosen to become a branch plant arm of the US Treasury and IRS and ceding Canadian sovereignty in such a cowardly and craven manner. Wasting our Canadian taxpayer money defending the indefensible, and subverting democracy, the Charter and other Canadian laws by having passed the FATCA IGA inside an omnibus bill and creating a class of Canadian individuals and families deemed disposable in order to further the interests of the Canadian Banksters and kin, the FATCAnatics and their apologists.
The Harper government was hoping to keep their FATCA IGA treachery under wraps and without public and democratic scrutiny or opposition. So happy that the ADCS has thrown a wrench into that plan.
I would love to see the proceedings as well. I have a sense that there are a lot of “US person” Canadians in the Vancouver area, and that there should be a good attendance. The rest of us can do our part from afar. Very important, those of us that have been in contact with the media, we need to encourage them to report on the proceedings.
@Marie;
I am hoping that being so close to a large urban area where there are substantial numbers of Canadians with the “USperson”designation will mean good attendance. I envy them being so near! And as you say, we need to encourage the media to report on the proceedings. I pay my Canadian taxes and I want the CBC to cover what is an essentially David vs. Goliath effort being played out in a Canadian court, where individuals and families are digging into their own pockets and funding this challenge against the Canadian federal government who is using our own Canadian taxpayer funds against Canadian taxpayers, citizens and residents.
I also have no doubt that the Banksters and the US are urgently whispering lines and directions to the newly established Canadian federal arm of the IRS/USTreasury, behind the scenes of all this.
Good time to remind the CBA Banksters and their IIAC http://iiac.ca/wp-content/uploads/IIAC-FATCA-Response.pdf and other kin that we haven’t forgotten their role skulking behind the scenes and receiving private updates into the FATCA IGA process from the Harper government, while taxpayers, citizens, residents and ACCOUNTHOLDERS/ASSET OWNERS were deliberately shut out and kept in the dark. I’ll never forget that – and I hope that other accountholders won’t either. The CBA is fooling itself with its polls http://www.cba.ca/en/media-room/65-news-releases/726-new-polling-value-service-and-stability-underpin-87-per-cent-positive-view-of-canadas-banks if it thinks that as FATCA becomes more apparent in Canada that there won’t be growth in resentment and fallout for the role of the banks. The CBA says “..The CBA advocates for effective public policies that contribute to a sound, successful banking system that benefits Canadians and Canada’s economy. ..” Guess that is why they spent money supporting a public policy that resulted in the FATCA IGA imposed on Canadians instead of opposing it the way they have continued to with other US policies like the Volcker rule http://business.financialpost.com/news/economy/u-s-volcker-trading-ban-violates-nafta-joe-oliver-tells-lawmakers http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-05-13/volcker-rule-violates-nafta-canada-wants-exemption-oliver-says http://business.financialpost.com/fp-comment/volcker-rule-release-will-be-bankings-test-for-nafta http://www.cba.ca/contents/files/misc/msc_20120213_cbavolcker_bil.pdf
Interesting that the CBA and the Canadian federal government caved when it was so very clearly a US extraterritorial imposition on Canadian RESIDENTS sited within Canadian sovereign and autonomous borders (FATCA) (see statement warning Canadian parliamentarians, by Prof Cockfield https://openparliament.ca/committees/finance/41-2/34/prof-arthur-cockfield-1/ ), yet they are continuing to fight when it affects CBA expansions into and onto US soil (ex. Volcker)! They wouldn’t raise NAFTA re FATCA, but are raising NAFTA re Volcker.
I will be attending the Federal Court FATCA proceeding on August 4 and 5. Please also add my name to the list, if there is one, as an “ex-US person” who supports Canadian sovereignty. As I live in the Vancouver area, it is easy to get there. Hope to see many other supporters there.
@PatCanadian – I too am an ex-USC who is thinking about attending as I see this whole FATCA thing as a gargantuan rip into Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms, a crack in the system which could easily be further ruptured (especially by this Government).
As a Vancouverite, would you be willing to advise those of us who will be visitors to your fair city for those days (likely the night of August 3 until the morning of August 6) about reasonable housing options near or at a not-too-far/too-difficult a cab or bus ride away from the courthouse? Also, those Brockers willing to share accommodations should mention this so pairing or grouping can be looked at. Further, as a Vancouverite, would you be willing to serve as the person who builds a list and works with those of us who are coming from afar if we want to be connected with other Brokers in terms of some group housing options?
BTW, here is the second part of Prof. Cockfields warning to Canadian parliamentarians re the passage of the FATCA IGA in his personal appearance before the Finance Committee ‘https://openparliament.ca/committees/finance/41-2/34/prof-arthur-cockfield-2/ and for those who haven’t read it, the submission with Prof Christians ‘Submission to Finance Department on Implementation of FATCA in Canada’ ‘ http://ssrn.com/abstract=2407264 and the report commissioned by the Privacy Commissioner of Canada ‘FATCA and the Erosion of Canadian Taxpayer Privacy’ http://ssrn.com/abstract=2433198 .
Those readers here who are not Canadians but whose home country has similar laws and policies may still benefit from reading those papers and consider how the authors’ observations may usefully apply for resistance to US extraterritorial FATCA and CBT as imposed in their own non-US homelands. If you come across any similar papers from around the globe, please share citations and links with us here. I myself am hampered in searching by being mostly unilingual – English only. We would benefit from materials from the EU, and elsewhere.
For people making plans to be in Vancouver for the court case, note that John Richardson is presenting another of his information sessions in Vancouver at that time:
TORONTO Sunday, May 31, 2015
12 noon – 2 p.m. – $20.00
Carr Hall, 100 St, Joseph St.
Toronto ON M5S 2C4 MAP
NEW!
VANCOUVER Wednesday, August 5, 2015
6:00 – 8:00 pm – $20.00
Further details TBA
@LM I actually live in White Rock at commuting distance from Vancouver but would be wiling on both counts. Someone already posted this, but UBC is a good option. Here is the link for housing:
http://vancouver.housing.ubc.ca/other-housing/visitor-campus-housing/
I stayed at UBC residences for a conference and it’s good for the price. They have a number of different reasonably priced options. It is a bus ride to the courthouse. I will look into options that are closer and get back to you.
As far as building a list and connecting other Brockers who wish to attend but come from a distance, I am willing but would need some guidance on how this should be done. For example, some people may have privacy concerns, etc. Maybe Pacifica could advise us on this.
@ Pat Canadian – From sunny small-town southern Ontario, I personally want to thank you for your willingness to try (in some small – – or not-so-small – – manner) to help us far-away-Brockers to come together. Even just keeping track of who is planning to come and who is planning to stay at the UBC dorms (there may be a number of buildings used for these hostel rooms) and helping to figure out how we could find each other there. Or if someone is coming on their own but might be willing to share a room in one of the hotels near the court, if they knew who else was coming and might be willing to share a room – – sure cuts the costs. It’s a couple months away, but I (and I’m sure others here) will be most grateful for whatever you think can be done to help facilitate this “gathering of the Brockers”. 🙂 🙂 🙂
I thought all those champagne sipping ex-patriot ungrateful US Citizens resident in Canada would be staying at the Shagri La!!!
http://www.shangri-la.com/vancouver/shangrila/
Hi LM…greetings in sunny Ontario from sunny BC. The following are some links to accommodations in downtown Vancouver, most closer to the courthouse than UBC. I can’t recommend or not recommend any of them as I have not stayed in them. Probably best to avoid the downtown east side. The YWCA, UBC and serviced apartments tend to accommodate groups as well as individuals.
http://govancouver.about.com/od/vancouveronabudget/tp/Top-8-Budget-Vancouver-Hotels.htm
http://www.tripadvisor.ca/HotelsList-Vancouver-Cheap-Hotels-zfp5096.html
http://ywcavan.org/hotel
http://www.vancouver-serviced-apartments.com/home.php
I have emailed Pacifica as to how to facilitate the gathering of Brockers for court in August and we can proceed from there when I hear back. Good Luck. Hope to see you in Vancouver.
@George,
Surely they will simply park their yachts at the marina and be chauffeured from there.
That way they can take their servants with them; no telling what kind of service one might be subjected to at the Shangri-La.
@ George and foo: 🙂 I was just thinking that our choice(s) of accommodation would be a good “talking point” with any media who might be covering the trial … the fact that most of us will be attempting to secure “budget” lodgings and will be arriving at the court house via public transit.
@PatCanadian: Thank you for coordinating this effort and for your suggestions!
PatCanadian: Am I right that the bus ride from UBC to downtown could take as long as an hour? If so, those staying at UBC might want to plan to leave the campus on the early side so as not to be late for court.
This might be helpful for those trying to figure out public transit in and around Vancouver. The site will give you estimated transit times.
Vancouver transit link: http://www.translink.ca/