On August 11, 2014 Plaintiffs Ginny Hillis and Gwen Deegan filed a Claim in Federal Court of Canada arguing that the U.S. FATCA law imposed on Canada violated the Charter of Rights and Freedoms of Canadians. We lost in Federal Court and later in the Federal Court of Appeal.
On January 10, 2023 our Appellant, Gwen, filed a “leave to appeal” request in the Supreme Court of Canada asking the Court to accept her application to hear the appeal. In argument Gwen asked Court to consider both Charter sections 8 and 1. Section 8 protects against “unreasonable” searches or seizures and section 1 protects rights and freedoms subject to reasonable limits.
Today, on July 13, 2023 the Supreme Court of Canada decided not to hear the appeal, thus exhausting our last opportunity to appeal in the Canadian courts.
Given the Supreme Court decision, the Alliance for the Defence of Canadian Sovereignty (ADCS) has decided to abandon its efforts to end the Canadian legislation enabling the U.S. FATCA law — and will dissolve our non-profit corporation.
The ADCS Board thanks many for past support which made this lawsuit possible: the brave plaintiffs and appellants Gwen, Ginny, and Kazia, the Isaac Brock Society, and the hundreds of people who, since 2014, contributed financially and in other cases their encouragement that this legal challenge was necessary.
Thank you all for your support,
Alliance for the Defence of Canadian Sovereignty
You fought the good fight. Sometimes there is no justice. I guess that just leaves renunciation.
Thank you for all you have done. Betrayed by Canada as well as the USA. Disgusting.
Thank you for your heroism. You are the best of Canadians, and have given inspiration to many people around the world.
Hello Stephen, Ginny, Gwen and all,
It’s a sad day. Best wishes and thanks to all involved. I renounced 9 years ago but have followed this lawsuit and the struggle even longer. I think the USA is crumbling and will continue to go downhill. My battle with their tax system ended so I hold no ill will against the US. It’s simply my gut feeling and seeing the news south of the border that indicates to me that the US empire, with all it’s division and debt, is bound to end badly. Corrupt empires eventually fall. In the meantime, be careful out there.
Thank you, ADCS, so much for all your work on this big project. I’m thinking too, of everyone who donated, especially people of limited means who contributed what they could. It was a real grassroots effort. The only good thing I feel today is that, led by ADCS, we were a good team and, though we lost, I feel we did everything we could. Thanks, big-time, to the ADCS team, Stephen, John, Carol and Trish; and to our brave Plaintiffs, Ginny, Gwen and Kazia, who came forward publicly in hopes of aiding all Canadians affected by FATCA!!!
Like Pacifica, I was always astonished-and frankly kept awake on many a night- by the number of people with limited means who donated to this cause. Those were the people whom i considered brave. Gwen and I knew from the minute we became plaintiffs what we were up against, and never considered ourselves brave for doing so. I commend Gwen for staying committed to the end. I thank the directors of ADCS for the uncountable hours and personal time they so graciously put into this legal challenge. I had come to grips with and resigned myself to today’s legal outcome when I made the decision to remove myself as a plaintiff, as I no longer held out any hope of Canada’s support. Today it gives me no pleasure to realize I was correct. As a dual citizen I am not proud to be either american or canadian.
Thank you so much for your donations. Thank you also for your friendships you so kindly offered.Losing is never easy. Many ( hard) lessons have been learned as we fought together.
John Richardson has posted a detailed post about this decision on his Citizenship Solutions site.
We lost, but the game was rigged from the start and the referee is bent.
I echo the words of Pacifica and others to say thank you, to ADCS and all the others (including your families) who over so many years made this challenge possible – who believed in it and made significant personal sacrifices of time, energy, and resources to pursue it to the end on behalf of all of us.
Thanks so very much to “….all of the ADCS team, Stephen, John, Carol and Trish; and to our brave Plaintiffs, Ginny, Gwen and Kazia, who came forward publicly in hopes of aiding all Canadians affected by FATCA…”. We don’t and can’t know firsthand all that you’ve given up and sacrificed to take this to the finish line on behalf of countless others.
Thanks also to those who are no longer with us but who contributed to this and related efforts.
This was in truth “a real grassroots effort”, and something of an unlikely miracle to even first mount and organize a challenge, and then to stay the course for the many years up to this point. As it is a miracle and a blessing for this site and other related efforts to have been created and maintained by volunteers over the past years on behalf of those trying to come to terms with the inherently punitive US extraterritorial treatment of those living outside the US with a US conferred status.
This was not futile, though there will be the predictable chorus of financial sector and US tax law and other legal pundits who’ll rush to say so. It doesn’t appear to me that the issues and human and Charter rights involved got a full and fair chance to be considered. It was David vs. Goliath from the beginning, and I’m sure that the government of Canada was hoping that it wouldn’t even make it this far and would just wither away due to the vast mismatch of resources.
Even though in this instance it went against us, the rights at the heart of this are still clearly worthy of defense, and necessary to try to pursue if at all possible. It was from the outset a case of ordinary citizens vs. a giant. The Government of Canada (and US government and the Canadian financial sector no doubt still lobbying behind the scenes) had access to far more resources and confidential information from the beginning – ab/using our own Canadian taxpayer dollars and deploying numerous government lawyers for years (and in possession of information we wouldn’t be privy to) in order to quash this grassroots effort by ordinary individuals with limited means to defend what we know to be right and just.
US extraterritorial citizenship-based taxation is a cult-like ideology in which its adherents miscast US birthplace, parentage and otherwise acquired US citizenship or quasi-citizenship status as primarily and inherently at core a taxable event – no matter where in the world those affected reside, and regardless of other citizenships held and our actual economic and other relationships and loyalties lived entirely outside US borders – even for most or all of a lifetime. It utterly degrades the concept of US citizenship and recasts it in purely economic terms – elevating our potential value as ‘US taxable persons’ over all other considerations like human rights. In that view we’re a commodity not people. As if we’re owned for life by the US wherever in the world we reside – or otherwise must perform elaborate and arcane prescribed rituals and buy out our freedom via extortionate renunciation / relinquishment fees in a process deliberately designed to discourage us from doing so. This belief system further says that because we bank and save where we work, earn, save and reside – outside the US, we by default must prove annually that we are not money-laundering, human-trafficking, drug-smuggling, terror-funding criminals to ‘FINCEN’ – the US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. Any other citizenships – by birthplace or by naturalization, and our true homes and chosen communities and families and lives outside the US are not worthy of respect and consideration – only our potential tax and penalty value. As in many other current and historical instances, the US does not respect or recognize the national boundaries, interests, laws and sovereignty of other nations while demanding that respect for itself – whether by veiled or open threat and force.
Among the things I will never forget from the events of the past years regarding this issue:
The Con majority government MPs who created and pushed through the FATCA IGA in an omnibus bill and the gLib Canadian MPs who subsequently, cynically and hypocritically turned face and defended this US incursion (only after they themselves came into power) who were and are clearly willing to make disposable a certain subset of Canadian citizens and residents as well as cede our national sovereignty in answer to FATCA’s US extraterritorial extortion and Canadian financial sector lobbying. It was clear (but not a surprise) that the interests (and US market expansionist aspirations) of banks and the financial sector are dearer to those in power than the Charter of Rights, and have outweighed the civil and human rights considerations of us as Canadian citizens, families, residents, voters and taxpayers.
In this instance I am ashamed of both of the governments of the countries in which I have and had held citizenship. The US casts our ordinary local legal regulated banking in Canada as ‘foreign’ and automatically suspect and Canada cynically defends its complicity – all the while knowing that it is wrong.
This news reflects a democracy in decline! Time to change leaders in parliament that will stand up for Citizens of Canada!
Many thanks to you all for the brave fight.
The whole issue, from the initial ideas to the laws to this outcome is infuriating.
The fight was useful in highlighting the issue, in documenting the absurdity of it all, the abuse of power, and the damage done.
That does count for a lot.
Take care!
Ginny, Gwen, and Kazia— you are all only Canadians in my books! Thank you for stepping forward and acting as plaintiffs.
Thank you to the ADCS board for organizing the litigation fight. And thank you to each and every donor for contributing your hard earned cash to fund the good fight.
One final comment— what a treasure trove this site is. I think of its many visitors with questionable ties to the US who have educated themselves here over the years by reading and asking questions and consequently learned to never, ever voluntarily place one’s head into the mouth of the lion (IRS). The benefit of this website is immeasurable.
All the best,
BC Doc
I echo the above comment . Another BC Doc
My life was made better by meeting and working with everyone involved in this fight. From meeting Gwen and John Richardson at the all candidates debate in Toronto to telling Stephen Harper in person to get FATCA out of Canada, I made new and honest friends. I will never forget Lynne swanson as long as I live. A personal friend and fighter just like myself. This is a prime example of how a government can overpower anyone they wish with so called laws and their court system. This is a truly broken system indeed. When innocent people are targeted and their country does not stand up for them and do the right thing defending them, well, the country is also broken. I do not trust any politician or this government in any way shape or form sorry to say. We now have proof this is how we will be treated in the future as well. I am always at arm’s reach if needed for any help in any future challenges, but, I do not trust our judges either, so not sure if any challenges will do any good. Sad to say that we are just money to our government and that is all we will ever be. I knew this would be the outcome from the start as the system is biased and broken. Thank you everyone for being in my life and I will fight for you all any day of the week as I know you are all honest good people with only good intentions. Mike.
We did the right thing to challenge FATCA because US overreach into what we had thought was a sovereign Canada should have been easily recognized as being unfair and egregious. Little did I know at the start that there is an astounding amount of corruption and global collusion going on in Canada, so much so that the courts tend mostly to lean to the side of government and corporations. I learned that lesson along the way and especially in the past 3 years. So the decision by the Supreme Court to not hear our appeal is disappointing but hardly surprising.
Nevertheless, I do not regret the journey, ridiculously long as it turned out to be, because I was compelled to honour the spirit of Lynne Swanson (thanks for mentioning her, Native Canadian) and I was eager to support our courageous plaintiffs in whatever small way that I could. I’m sure others here at Brock appreciate, as I always will, the extraordinary effort and sacrifice that went into our court challenge. I think it would have been worse to let the injustice slip on by knowing all was not done to fight against it.
Thank you to the ADCS team for a valiant effort and Brockers for being here when I needed you most. We need to do whatever we can to ease our worries and may sanity, justice, empathy and reason someday return to this very wonky world we live in. Heads up and walk tall everyone because being right in the wrong climate is nothing to be ashamed of … it’s absolutely admirable. Love and blessings to all of you.
@ Ginny — You are a good citizen and that’s all that matters. We all are, even though neither the Canadian nor American government may see us as such.
@ Badger — Thanks for your wisdom and for expressing what we all would like to, if only we could do it as well as you.
@ Pacifica — You have hung in there for all of us, keeping Brock available for all who need the good advice and commiseration available at this site. Many thanks!
Thank you EmBee. Your words of wisdom coupled with your support like those of many others here always meant so much to me. And yes, I was also one of many who held Lynne Swanson in the highest regard. As I have said many times previously, the friendships I have made here have been wonderful and not to be ever forgotten. And that’s something that the governments of those difficult days can never take away. We did our collective bests despite their opposition and can hold our heads high. So thanks to @all.
This is disappointing but not surprising. The previous Canadian court judgements demonstrated that no judge is willing to uphold the Charter rights of Canadian US Persons. The threat of the bank penalties is just too much for them. I had held out some hope for the Supreme Court, with their glorified reputation for emphasizing human rights in their decisions.
Thankfully our worst fears regarding FATCA have not (at least so far) been realized. To the best of my knowledge, the IRS has not used FATCA data to threaten any Canadian citizen living in Canada. It is up to the individual to protect oneself from FATCA, even if it means being less than truthful on bank forms. I am resigned to the fact that I will likely have to keep my birthplace secret from any financial institution for the rest of my life (which I think is ridiculous but with all the horrible events going on in the world today, ex. Ukraine, the Middle East, wars in Africa etc. I suppose that I should not be complaining).
A final thank you for everyone who was involved in the ADCS effort. I wish success for the ongoing European actions and the work of SEAT. US citizenship taxation must end. And I feel the same as BC Doc regarding the great importance of this website.
@PatCanadian
The irony for us is that Canada, and other parts of the world, need the USA, for all its flaws, to stay strong and democratic (even though it is not a perfect democracy). Russia and China keep trying to undermine Western democracy with election interference, intellectual property theft etc. Trump tried to overturn the 2020 election in more than one way and wants to be an authoritarian leader. Millions of MAGA Americans, including some members of Congress, still support him. What will 2024 bring? If the USA goes down this dangerous path, Canada will be in a perilous position. Would our democracy survive?
I want to have faith that there are enough Americans who believe in democracy and won’t let the USA lose it. Yes, many of them think that we should be paying our US taxes but I can happily ignore that!