I just received the official invitation to appear before the Finance Committee as part of a panel. I will try to find out who the other panel members will be. I am also trying to determine if I am able to participate via video or if I need to be in Ottawa in person.
Dear Ms. Swanson,
The House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance would like to invite the Maple Sandbox Blog to appear before the Committee, on May 13, 2014, from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m. (Ottawa time) in relation to its study of Part 5 of Bill C-31 entitled An Act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on February 11, 2014 and other measures.
Your participation, as part of a panel, consists of an opening statement of up to five minutes, followed by rounds of questions from the members of the Committee. You are invited to review the attached document entitled Guidelines for Witnesses prior to your appearance before the Committee. You could, if you choose to do so, submit a 5-page brief to the Committee. It will be translated as soon as possible, distributed to the members and published on the Finance Committee Website.
Please confirm your presence by responding to this email, by May 6 at noon. Upon confirmation, we will provide you with further details regarding your appearance.
Here is the link to Bill C-31
http://www.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?Language=E&Mode=1&DocId=6495200
“House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance invite @maplesandbox & I 2 appear” on panel on #FATCA #IGA in #C31 http://t.co/TSYqHYKtmn
This is just wonderful news! Congratulations! I know you’ll be a stellar participant and will be able to bring the most serious problems of FATCA to the forefront. Very happy about this!
We could not ask for a better representative than Lynne!! Great News!
@Atticus: Five Minutes! Yikes! Covering just a fraction in five minutes will be a huge challenge.
Once I know who the other panel members will be, I will be able to decide what I should focus on.
@Saddened: Change Your Name. You should be Ecstatic now that you have your CLN!
Well done, Lynne! Go get ’em!!
And let me add, this is a compliment from the House Finance Committee to Maple Sandbox blog. Particularly if no other blogs were invited. I think the more reasoned and calmer tone generally found on this blog, impresses more and has contributed to an invitation to Lynne as the co-founder and inspiration of this blog. A lesson worth pondering IMO.
Thats very encouraging news!!!
Can you do both the five page document and get five minutes?
My two cents, being there in person is better.
@Blaze/Lynne – thank you so much for agreeing to do this. I know you will be a great representative on how the FATCA travesty affects us.
And, I really think it’s a tribute to YOU – and all of the work you’ve done on those very informative and well received articles you’ve had published.
@ Lynne,
Appearing before the Finance Committee is great opportunity to effect change and defeat FATCA. Absolutely super that you will be making a representation to the Committee, as you’ve always been really articulate and concise on this topic.
That is exciting, Lynne! Congratulations!
@Somerfugl: I’m hoping to be able to do it via video from London. Wanna come to wherever Finance sets it up?
@Lynne
Sock it to them!
@ Schubert
I agree with your assessment that the invitation is a compliment to Maple Sandbox.
I do find it a bit odd that the invitation was to the blog and not to an individual.
I now have confirmation that I will be testifying via video. Native Canadian is going with me, but he won’t be testifying. Somerfugl, the location is really close to your home, so it would be great if you and Mr. Somerfugl want to attend.
I spoke with Murray Rankin’s Assistant this morning. Because Maple Sandbox is not an official organization, I was not able to put that on my Confirmation of Appearance form that I just sent in. She suggested I mention my affiliation with Sandbox in my presentation and in the brief.
Go get ’em, Lynne! My thoughts are with you.
WHAT!? Listen to ParlVu!!!! Gerald Keddy first said FATCA doesn`t apply to Canadian citizens, just US citizens. Joe Oliver confirmed that.
Later, Murray Rankin pushed Oliver on that and Oliver conceded it does apply to dual citizens.
One of the Con MPs had the audacity to say “Congress has spoken.“
Well, that settles it. We don`t need a Canadian Parliament.
Oliver says there is not much risk on the constitutional issue. Caron is pushing to remove it from C31. Oliver doesn`t see any point.
Oliver says there is not much risk on the constitutional issue. Caron is pushing to remove it from C31. Oliver: It`s important to move ahead with the agreement to avoid the negative consequences…For us there is not really any reason to delay this now because I don`t have much time.“
Lynne,
Do you know what Conservative MP said Congress has spoken? Was it Keddy?
Murray Rankin just tweeted the following:
https://twitter.com/MurrayRankin/status/463790534696239104
Here’s my reply 2 @MurrayRankin
Lynne Swanson
@LynneBlaze 39m@MurrayRankin#CPC Mike Kelly says “Congress has spoken” on#FATCA I want Parliament 2 speak on#FATCA. Say “No!” Protect Canadians!Tim: I just watched it again. It was Mike Kelly. He said The “fact is FATCA is a U.S. law” He went on to say when a group were in Washington meeting with U.S. Treasury, the “message to us was clearly Congress has spoken.” (around 46:35) Note Gerald Keddy chuckling next to him.
http://parlvu.parl.gc.ca/Parlvu/TimeBandit/PowerBrowser_SilverLight.aspx?ContentEntityId=11725&EssenceFormatID=480&date=20140506&lang=en&taid=8&tnid=378
Does anyone know how to get a a transcript of this?
Oops. Mike Allen. Not Mike Kelly. I need to get my act together b4 I testify next week. Sorry1
Just posted: May 6, 2014 Must read.
‘FATCA and the Erosion of Canadian Taxpayer Privacy’
Arthur J. Cockfield
Queen’s University – Faculty of Law
April 1, 2014
Report to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, April 2014
Abstract:
“In 2010, the United States enacted a tax reform known as the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). Under FATCA, all non-U.S. financial institutions, including Canadian banks, must review their records to determine if any accounts are owned by “U.S. persons,” which include U.S. citizens residing abroad and individuals with significant social and/or economic ties with the United States. The United States threatened to economically sanction any foreign country that did cooperate with the new regime. Accordingly, Canada has agreed to implement FATCA via an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with the United States; at this writing the implementing legislation, Bill C-31, is before Parliament. This report discusses how FATCA and the IGA unduly harm the privacy interests and rights of Canadians in part because detailed financial information concerning hundreds of thousands of Canadians would be transferred to a foreign government for the first time. Canada is getting nothing in return for this privacy giveaway other than the relief of the threatened economic sanctions. The Canadian government should not implement the IGA until these privacy concerns are addressed.”
permalink to open source fulltext is here:
http://ssrn.com/abstract=2433198
How can my elected officials allow another country to “tag” me and my family to be deprived of our constitutional rights?…That is a question that I should never have to ask myself, as a Canadian.
Merci Lynne, tu as toute notre confiance et admiration!
Tricia/Noble Dreamer has posted Notice of Meeting of the Standing Committee of Finance for Tuesday, May 13 at Brock.
This information contains times and names of panel members. There will be one panel from 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. with Allison Christians, Roy Berg, a Director from Financial Sector Policy and a representative from Investment Industry Association of Canada.
The second panel will be from 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. with Arthur Cockfield, the President of Portfolio Management Association of Canada, a Canadian-American tax lawyer based in New York City and me.
There is one name missing from the list that I thought would be there. As recently as Tuesday, Murray Rankin’s office was trying to get that person on the panel.
Based on who is on the panels, it is my intent to focus my five minutes on being the voice of one million Canadians.
The information says this meeting will be televised, but I don’t know where it will be televised. If anyone can find out, that would be great. it will also be on ParlVu.
This is my first Mother’s Day without my mother.
Mom inherited her feisty, stubborn and independent genes from her mother and passed them on directly to her two daughters. I will do my best to be feisty and strong on behalf of one million Canadians in my five minutes before Finance Committee on Tuesday.
Cherish your mother and your family.
Lynne- we all know you will do well.
CPAC will very likely air the meeting, although probably not live. I suggest you check their schedule on the 12th, 13th or 14th. http://www.cpac.ca
If you have a PVR, it would be helpful to record the meeting.
I think CPAC is only available in SD, not HD, and certainly not 3D. Actually I wouldn’t want the FATCA monster coming out of the screen at me. Now THAT would be a horror movie.
@Hazy: FATCA Monster
Today’s the day and I woke up with the beginning of a cold–sore throat, stuffy nose and plugged ears.
I will not be scared off by a common cold or the FATCA Monster.
I just hope my voice holds. I often get laryngitis when I have a cold. Then again, I went to a job interview 34 years ago squawking like a chicken from a cold. I was hired. That launched my career in Human Resources.
CHANGE FOR TODAY: I just received a call from the Clerk of the Finance Committee advising both panels for today have been changed from 90 minutes each to 60 minutes each.
The first panel will be 3:30 to 4:30. The second panel will be 4:30 to 5:30.
They are trying to arrange for the space for my video conferencing to be available earlier. When I spoke with the site last week, it was not available until 4:45. Finance Canada is trying to work something out so I can participate for the full hour.
The reason for the change is the House of Commons is meeting tonight.
Room OK for 4:30. Native Canadian is picking me up early because there is road construction directly in front of the site for video.
Here is the transcript for May 13.
I will also post this on the thread for my Opening Statement so it can be found in both threads.
http://www.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?DocId=6597204&Language=E&Mode=1&Parl=41&Ses=2