Here is an article FATCA Could Hit Unsuspecting Canadians.
It first appeared in Canadian Business. Then CNET. Then, it appeared in MacLean’s under a different title.
The article reports Hsu and Brison “have a bunch of questions” about FATCA.
It also says:
To say that FATCA is controversial is an understatement.
And:
It has caused a stir in Canada as well, but the press here generally portrays it as something that affects only dual citizens and green-card holders. Given the number of Americans who live in Canada, that would be enough to make it a big issue (and a big headache for Ottawa). But the truth is FATCA has the potential to touch a much larger number of unsuspecting Canadians.
Want to know more about how it might all play out? Well, Hsu and Brison are a good place to start.
The final question the article asks is:
Is FATCA even constitutional?
The author posted a thank you to Allison Christians at McGill University for her help in researching the article.
One thing that surprised me in the QP questions and repeated in the article, is that the process for putting the FATCA IGA in effect is unknown.
I have posted this before, but I did ask Kevin Shoom about the process and the reply received was:
“As per statements from Department of Finance spokespeople, if an agreement is reached, it would be made public and require Parliamentary approval for implementation.”
I assume Kevin Shoom would know what has to happen after the IGA is signed. I wonder what “statements from Department of Finance spokespeople” he is referring to?
It seems to me that the approval process should be known by now. Why is would it still be a mystery to MPs and presumably, Allison Christians?