Tag Archives: Green Party Canada

Green Party of Canada Issues Statement On FATCA

Elizabeth May and Erich Jacoby-Hawkins have now issued a Green Party of Canada Statement on FATCA. (IRS Tax Collection: Evasion of the US or Invasion of Canada?)
Green Party Leader Ms. May says:

“Clearly, any person with earnings or part-time residence in the US should file tax returns and pay US taxes in keeping with current bilateral agreements. However, our government must stand up for Canadian citizens who are neither working under nor representing any burden to the US governmental system”

Green Party Revenue Critic Mr. Jacoby Hawkins (who was the only representative of any of the parties at FATCA Forum) says:

“It would be a clear violation of our Charter of Rights and Freedoms to have Canadian banks, under the direction of the IRS, violate the privacy rights of some Canadian citizens or residents based on their current or former ties to another country, namely the United States.”

I hope the government is prepared to listen to the Green Party’s position on this:

 We must not permit Canadian financial institutions to comply with FATCA in violation of our own privacy laws, and if the US attempts to enforce FATCA against them, we must vigorously respond and seek legal remedy as is our right.
If the US feels the existing Canada-United States Convention with Respect to Taxes is not working, they should provide specific details and suggestions on how to improve it through legislative amendment without sacrificing the rights of Canadians to foreign interests.

Of course, the Green Party only has one seat in Parliament.  That is Ms. May’s. She herself was born in US, moved to Canada (Nova Scotia) as a teen and has been a Canadian citizen since 1978.  Her seat is for a BC riding, Saanich-Gulf Islands.
Ms. May, like many of us, believed she relinquished her US citizenship permanently and irrevocably when she became a citizen as a young woman.  I believe she is also like most of us in that she does not have a CLN.
I hope this statement may result in Finance Minister Jim Flaherty and other parties breaking their months-long silence on FATCA to assure Canadians that their fundamental rights will be protected.