Correction: In this post earlier today, I said BMO responded to Suzanne Herman’s letter. Someone pointed out to me that the reply letter was from a former Product Manager for Bank of Montreal (BMO). I apologize for that earlier information and have made corrections in red below.
However, I am still left wondering if this is what BMO thinks of us. I hope BMO may issue a clarification considering that Mr.Cavanaugh used their name and his former title in his letter.
A debate has developed at the Squamish Chief between Suzanne Herman who had a letter to the editor The FATCA of the Matter published last week.
In her letter, Suzanne wrote:
First of all, the agreement will now make discrimination based on national origin legal in Canada.
She also called FATCA a threat to Canadian sovereignty.
Today, a former Program Manager, Capital Markets, Bank of Montreal responded with The Facts of FATCA. I find this letter among the most offensive I have read anywhere.
This letter essentially calls us tax evaders and criminals and says FATCA does not violate Canadian sovereignty.
BMO former Program Manager Capital Markets also has an interesting take on the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
To take advantage of Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms, you must be a a Canadian citizen and you must not be contravening any laws in Canada or any other country.
First of all, you do NOT have to be a Canadian citizen to be covered under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The very first Charter case (Andrews vs Law Society of British Columbia) was won by someone who was not a Canadian citizen. The court found a requirement of Canadian citizenship infringed on the plaintiff’s Charter equality rights.
Based on Mr. Cavanaugh’s understanding, it also appears Canadian women born in Saudi Arabia can’t avail themselves of the Charter because they are breaking Saudi laws by driving in Canada.
In any case, we now know what BMO former Program Manager thinks of us. I think Mr. Cavanaugh must now work for US Ttreasury and IRS. I’m surprised he didn’t call us “myths”
I tweeted and e-mailed BMO inviting them to clarify if this letter from their former Program Manager Capital Markets reflects their views.
Maybe that’s why he is a “former” manager? Anybody in a senior position with any bank should have higher standards of literacy and deductive reasoning than he shows in that letter. He seems to think US law supersedes Canadian law in Canada.
My god!!! What a moron!!!
@Arctic: I agree. If he had signed that letter as a BMO manager without it being approved by BMO, he would quickly be a “former” manager.
I hope BMO will issue some clarification.
@ Blaze…. I cannot imagine anybody that ever had any sort of responsible position saying such a stupid thing about our constitution.
The analogy about a woman born in Saudi Arabia and driving in Canada actually goes further. According to his infantile logic, all women drivers in Canada would be denied constitutional protection.
Reading a bible is illegal in Saudi Arabia. Leaving the Islamic religion for another is also illegal. The latter carries the death penalty.
Isn’t owning property illegal in North Korea? Property owners would also be denied constitutional protection.
I seriously doubt that he is working for the IRS. Their standards are obviously low, but could they be THAT low?
The guy is just an idiot, so we should cease and desist immediately here from even giving that jerk the time of day.
@Blaze, kudos. Me thinks Mr. Cavanagh had no business citing a title with BMO in it and BMO is going to be less than pleased.
Background on Mr. Cavanagh;
http://ca.linkedin.com/pub/bill-cavanagh/12/b02/ba
http://www.zoominfo.com/p/Bill-Cavanagh/764177062
@George: I’m a retired Human Resources Manager. If Mr. Cavanaugh had sent that letter without it being approved by BMO while he was still working there, he would now be the former manager that he is.
In addition, I’m quite certain he has no legal right to use his former title and Bank of Montreal name in the signature line of such a public letter.
I hope BMO does accept my invitation to clarify if Mr. Cavanaugh represents their position on FATCA and the Charter. I suspect some BMO customers are not very happy right now.
I found that letter sickening. It is incredible how ignorant and vindictive some people can be. How can anyone be expected to pay their “fair share” to a foreign country that they have no benefits or services from, where they do not live or work etc., based solely on a distant birth event? Beyond belief.
It seems to me that the ex-Manager from BMO thinks a lot like many of our MPs, including our ex-Finance Minister, and also our Liberal party leader. Maybe Cavanagh is pursuing a new career in politics, while Flaherty might be pursuing a new career in banking. Just switch the con artists around between banking and politics, and perhaps few people will notice their lame attempts at pulling one over.
What’s interesting is that if you look him up you can see that he has a vested interest in FATCA becoming law. His linked in profile lists this:
Program Training Instructor
Confidential Client
March 2013 – January 2014 (11 months) Western Canada
Development of course material and classroom delivery covering Global Custody Services, FATCA, Dodd Frank. Also Mutual Funds business processing including Manufacturing, Delivery, Trustee responsibility, Fund Accounting, Unit Holder Record Keeping and Funds Investments.
Quick, re; Cavanagh’s baseless claim; “To take advantage of Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms, you must be a a Canadian citizen and you must not be contravening any laws in Canada or any other country.” Somebody better get on it and issue a bulletin – to tell the Supreme Court of Canada that a member of the Canadian financial industry is apparently the go to person for expertise on the Charter and Constitutional issues. Where is that exactly located in the preamble to the Charter?
Ironic isn’t it that the very proof that Cavanagh doesn’t know what he is talking about is the fact that they had to INVENT a WORK AROUND in order to try to assert that the FATCA IGA superceded Canadian laws. IF what he asserts had any truth to it, they wouldn’t have had to try and supercede existing Canadian law. AND, what makes US law so special? Will he start demanding that Canadian children born of parents from every other country in the world must subordinate themselves to any law dreamt outside Canada?
There are apparently no lengths to which the apologists and financiers won’t go in order to justify the deal they lobbied for – no matter what it costs everyone else.
I forwarded Mr. Cavanaugh’s letter to BMO and said:
So, I will let you decide for yourself if BMO shares Mr. Cavanaugh’s view of us.
I just read BMO’s reply which reflects their stand on FATCA. It appears they share the dismal views of Mr.Cavanaugh on the subject. They have convinced me to make my appointment at the U.S. consulate to RELINQUISH U.S. CITIZENSHIP. Of course I will never do business with BMO. Thanks for this incentive Blaze!
More like a non-answer to any question, more government-generated gobbledygook, whichever side of the border.
Never any real communication, just the agreed-to words to use again and again with the peons — or ‘the Americans who happen to live in Canada’ (US taxpayers resident in Canada) as we’re now defined.
Real customer service; the IRS is the customer.
No mystery there. She didn’t even bother to answer your question.
On March 31, I followed up with BMO:
Today, I received this reply:
Thank you for choosing BMO Bank of Montreal for your everyday banking needs.
Katherine Dutka
Customer Contact Assistant Manager, BMO Bank of Montreal
Looks to me like the letter that bozo posted on that web site has been deleted.
Dare I guess that the website owners were embarrassed?
@Arctic: The Squamish Chief updated their website and moved the article. I will update the link to where it now appears on the website.
Unfortunately, in moving it, all of the comments were lost.
http://www.squamishchief.com/opinion/letters/the-facts-about-fatca-1.932064
If they weren’t, they should have been!