EDITOR,
The relationship between Canada and the United States is about to reach an all-time low because of a law passed in the U.S. in 2010 and soon to be implemented in Canada. It's called the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and requires every bank outside the U.S. to report their American account holders to the IRS - or face economic sanctions.
Because the United States subjects its citizens and green card holders to a diaspora tax on their Canadian earnings and requires them to report on their savings, this is expected to have an unprecedented and devastating effect on approximately one million Canadians, their families and business partners.
In a letter addressed to me personally, the Hon. John Weston, MP, has stated that he is "thrilled" to inform me that his government has recently signed an Intergovernmental Agreement to help facilitate this transfer of information to the IRS, an act believed by many to be in contravention of Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Every Canadian should be gravely concerned about what this means to Canada. First of all, the agreement will now make discrimination based on national origin legal in Canada. Second of all, it will result in the transfer of earnings on Canadian-registered savings plans to the U.S. Treasury to fund services not used in Canada. Furthermore, it's expensive to implement and will cost all Canadians dearly. Scotiabank has already spent $100 million in startup costs for FATCA. For more information on what this means to you as a Canadian and how you can lend valuable support in fighting this threat to Canada's sovereignty, please visit the Isaac Brock Society website.
Prime Minister Harper is right. We will not recognize Canada when he's through with it.
Suzanne Herman
Gibsons
