Two things in life are certain: U.S. taxation and that other thing

Here's a very strong and clear statement from the organization American Citizens Abroad on why the United States should switch from citizen-based taxation (CBT) to residence-based taxation (RBT). It was presented to the U.S. Senate Finance Committee Hearing on July 22, 2014. The U.S. is only one of two countries in the world that practice CBT. The other country is Eritrea. http://americansabroad.org/files/8414/0732/2332/aca-statement-hearing-on-tax-reform.pdf

The end of Canadian sovereignty is in sight

Are you aware that ANY Canadian opening a new bank account at any of the major financial institutions will be asked invasive questions about their citizenship and sometimes their place of birth? This all thanks to the Harper government caving in to pressure from the United States and the banking industry as part of the United States Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). See this IRS site for details about this draconian legislation that makes a laughingstock of Canadian, not to mention other countries, sovereignty: http://www.irs.gov/Businesses/Corporations/Foreign-Account-Tax-Compliance-Act-FATCA 

The law imposes penalties on non-compliant financial institutions doing business in the United States. In order for this legislation to work, however, a little extra legal twist was needed, an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA). Canada was I believe the last of the G-8 nations to sign an IGA on February 5, 2014 (http://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/tax-policy/treaties/Documents/FATCA-Agreement-Canada-2-5-2014.pdf) and it was made official as part of the omnibus bill C-31 which received royal assent on June 19, 2014. 

Now you might think it bad for Canadians to be asked those questions or you might think them perfectly innocent, however, for anyone falling under the definition of a "U.S. person" (U.S. Internal Revenue Service terminology), which includes anyone who was born in the U.S., the tax consequences could be severe. Unless you can prove you're no longer a "U.S. person", you'll find your new bank account data heading out of country via the Canada Revenue Agency to the IRS. 

The Alliance for the Defence of Canadian Sovereignty (ADCS-ADSC: http://www.adcs-adsc.ca/) is planning a lawsuit against the Canadian government around the enactment of FATCA on Canadian soil through the IGA and is appealing for donations to fund the lawsuit through its own site and that of the Isaac Brock Society (http://isaacbrocksociety.ca/).

Now the real fun begins in the USA

Now that President Obama has been elected for a second term, another historic victory for the first Black President of the USA, the real fun begins. It was quite an exciting night for both candidates. Republican Party nominee Mitt Romney was very gracious in his speech conceding defeat. Wouldn't it be great if Obama offered him a seat in his cabinet? Looking at the way the Electoral College vote split across the country, it's pretty clear that Obama really has his work cut out for him, especially since the Republicans have retained control of the House of Representatives. So we'll see how much reaching across the aisles, rather than preaching and praying across the aisles there will be. The next big test of his presidency will be this fiscal cliff financial disaster.

Canada, land of heritage cultureless opportunities

Vancouver Sun journalist Stephen Hume has written a scathing piece, "Moving historic artifacts to Quebec 'stupid, insensitive'" about Prime Minister Harper's Conservative government's insensitive and economically unjustified cut to the National Archival Development Program and the warehousing of countless artifacts from their local communities to a warehouse in Gatineau, Quebec.

J.L. Granatstein in Globe & Mail on Library and Archives Canada's decimation

Historian J.L. Granatstein has written a most excellent rant against the ongoing decimation of Library and Archives Canada under the direction of the Librarian and Archivist of Canada, whom it seems, would rather carry out the wishes of his politician master the Hon. James Moore rather than do the honourable thing and resign. Take a look at Granatstein's indictment of the radical changes at LAC in the Globe & Mail (June 12, 2012) titled "Who will preserve the past for future generations?" Sadly, one of the cuts Granatstein missed was the elimination of the National Archival Development Program (NADP). Granatstein is the author of Who Killed Canadian History?, so perhaps a sequel might be Who Killed the Library and Archives Canada?

Society of American Archivists opposes the desecrecation of the Canadian archival system by Harper's government

Quoting (with some corrections) from the e-mail submitted to ARCAN-L on May 11, 2012:

Gregor Trinkaus-Randall, 2011-2012 President of the Society of American Archivists, has issued a letter to the Hon. James Moore, opposing the April 30 decision by Library and Archives Canada to eliminate the National Archival Development Program and [by extension] the Canadian Council of Archives.

The full letter is available online and can be found at

http://files.archivists.org/advocacy/Moore_NADPandCCA_051112.pdf .

More Times-Colonist coverage of Prime Minister Harper's attack on Canada's heritage sector

Eric Sager of the University of Victoria's History Department wrote a scatching denunciation in the May 11, 2012 issue of the Victoria Times-Colonist of Primer Minister Harper's government's attack on the Canadian heritage sector from downsizing of the Library and Archives Canada to the elimination of the National Archival Development Program (NADP) to the gutting of Parks Canada which maintains federal heritage sites.

His blistering attack is titled "Harperizing Canada's history and heritage". When the government celebrates the bicentennial of the War of 1812 to the tune of $28 million, but cuts the 26-year NADP funding of $1.7 million that has helped archives across Canada, the optics, as they say, do not look good. The cuts to Library and Archives Canada are equally serious. It's like taking the teachers out of the education system, the librarians out of libraries, the curators out of museums, oh wait, they're next.

Heritage Minister James Moore's weak defense of these cuts in relation to Library and Archives Canada that more effort will be expended on digitization is simply not practical in the face of the staffing loss. Furthermore, while self-service might work fine at Home Depot or Safeway (my experience with both is staff are still needed) and airport terminals, you can't compare a retail experience to a research experience where expert staff have deep knowledge of a subject, whether it's library publications or archival records.

Other Canadian archives are already experimenting with the kind of service LAC now offers where archivists are only available on call or by appointment. Yet some of these archives have not yet told their researchers through their Web site what they can expect when they arrive, that the long-standing practice of staffing a reference desk with an archivist is no more. If you walked into the Toronto Public Library and were told you had to make an appointment to see a reference librarian, what would you think? Welcome to Self-Service Canada!

CBC Radio interviews with CCA Chair on NADP cut

A couple of CBC Radio interviews today, May 7, 2012, with Lara Wilson, Chair, Canadian Council of Archives, about the federal government's elimination of the vitally important National Archival Development Program. Self-disclosure: I'm employed on contract funded in large part through NADP. The work I do on behalf of the Archives Association of BC reaches across Canada and around the world. The first is scheduled for "All Points West" at 4:10 pm PDST. You can listen live online via a link on the program's Web page at http://www.cbc.ca/allpointswest/. The second is scheduled for "As It Happens" tonight. This was a pre-recorded interview per Lara's e-mails to the ARCAN-L mailing list. This program starts at 6:30 pm PDST. You can listen live online via a link on the program's Web page at http://www.cbc.ca/asithappens/.

Online petition to help save National Archival Development Program

Please consider adding yours to the online petition created by archivist Heather Home at Make it Better - Write a Letter: Help save Canada's National Archival Development Program. If you're on the Facebook, you can also add this site as an app and recruit up to 16 friends to sign. The goal is 10,000 online signatures.

Archivists’ On to Ottawa Trek, May 28, 2012

Here is the announcement, in English followed by French, from the ARCAN-L mailing list on May 3, 2012 about the Archivists' On to Ottawa Trek taking place on May 28, 2012 at Parliament Hill, Ottawa, Ontario to protest Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservative Government's attack on the archival community through the elmination of the National Archival Development Program and deep staffing and service cuts to the Library and Archives Canada. Your written and recorded hertiage is now definitely an endangered species in the Canadian cultural landscape: On April 30, 2012, Library and Archives Canada (LAC) eliminated the National Archival Development Program (NADP), a $1.7 million contribution program administered for the LAC by the non-profit Canadian Council of Archives (CCA) and distributed to 13 provincial and territorial archives councils to support archival activities locally. Through these councils, NADP funding is on the ground in our 10 provinces and 3 territories, ensuring that Canada’s history is preserved in local communities. Canada’s archival councils provide support to archives and archivists so that they may better serve all Canadians. The NADP was a vital component of LAC’s legislated responsibility to foster preservation, promotion and access to Canada’s documentary heritage. As stated in the Act: 7. The objects of the Library and Archives of Canada are… (b) to make that heritage known to Canadians and to anyone with an interest in Canada and to facilitate access to it;… (f) to support the development of the library and archival communities. 8. (1) The Librarian and Archivist may do anything that is conducive to the attainment of the objects of the Library and Archives of Canada, including (i) provide professional, technical and financial support to those involved in the preservation and promotion of the documentary heritage and in providing access to it; The elimination of the NADP will result in the collapse of 11 of the 13 provincial and territorial archives councils, councils that support the day-to-day functioning of archives across the country. Many of these councils were forced to suspend operations immediately. Archival institutions that invested precious resources into the preparation of NADP funding applications were forced to suspend projects that had already been approved by the CCA. Countless jobs will now go unfilled.Consequently, archives’ mandate to make government transparent, to make information available to citizens, and to preserve records of Canadian culture and society will be greatly diminished. In addition, the federal government has sent more than 500 surplus notices to Library and Archives Canada, which will ultimately have its staff reduced by 20%. LAC has also cancelled its Inter-Library Loan program; cut reference staff; imposed a "new service model" that requires the public to make an appointment for reference requests; cut library cataloguers by a third; and cut private archivists and media specialists by 35%, which means not only that significant Canadian heritage will not be acquired, but that researchers will not be able to talk to experts who knew their fields as these experts simply won't exist any more. At the same time, the government unilaterally shut down libraries in the Transport, Immigration, and Public Works departments. The effect of these cuts and closures are absolutely devastating and amount to nothing less than a merciless attack upon the archives community and those who depend on access to archives for their work and study. But these attacks are not isolated; the Conservative government has systematically targeted organizations and institutions that collect, preserve, analyze, and make available information for Canadian citizens. Statistics Canada was previously the target of Tory assaults, as was the Polar Environment Atmospheric Research Laboratory (PEARL) in Eureka, Nunavut. Statistics Canada was forced to abandon the mandatory long-form census, which was vital for distributing government resources on an equitable basis, while PEARL research was instrumental in collecting data related to global warming. Furthermore, in a time of supposed austerity the Conservative government has allocated an additional $8 million dollars for the Canadian Revenue Agency to target registered charities engaged in political activities. As archivists, we say “Enough!” We will not allow the federal government and senior management of LAC to compromise, assault, and destroy the Canadian archival network and the heritage that it preserves and makes available. We will not allow ideologues to tear apart the work of generations of archivists. We will not allow archives to fall prey to one-sided cultural wars. We will fight back. On May 28, join us in the Archivists’ On to Ottawa Trek. Like our forebears in the 1935 On to Ottawa Trek who protested government mismanagement during the Great Depression, angry archivists and our allies from coast to coast will descend on Ottawa and other locations across the country on May 28 and we will be heard. For more information, check out: http://archiviststrek2012.tumblr.com/ Twitter:@ArchivistsTrek Facebook: Fight the Budget Cuts to the Library and Archives Canada Archivistes, en marche vers Ottawa – 28 mai Mission Le 30 avril 2012, Bibliothèque et Archives Canada (BAC) a éliminé le Programme national de développement des archives (PNDA), un programme d’aide financière de 1,7 million de dollars administré, sous la responsabilité de BAC, par le Conseil canadien des archives (CCA), organisme sans but lucratif. Ce programme répartit ces sommes d’argent entre 13 conseils provinciaux et territoriaux d’archives afin de soutenir les activités archivistiques sur une base locale. Par l’entremise de ces conseils, le financement du PNDA touche directement les 10 provinces et les 3 territoires canadiens et veille à ce que l'histoire du Canada soit préservée dans les communautés locales. Ces conseils d'archives du Canada visent à fournir un soutien aux services d’archives et aux archivistes afin qu'ils puissent mieux servir tous les Canadiens. Le PNDA était un élément essentiel de la responsabilité légale de BAC afin de favoriser la préservation, la promotion et l'accès au patrimoine documentaire du Canada. Tel qu’indiqué dans la Loi: 7. Bibliothèque et Archives du Canada a pour mission : b) de faire connaître ce patrimoine aux Canadiens et à quiconque s’intéresse au Canada, et de le rendre accessible; f) d’appuyer les milieux des archives et des bibliothèques. 8. (1) L’administrateur général peut prendre toute mesure qui concourt à la réalisation de la mission de Bibliothèque et Archives du Canada et, notamment : i) apporter un appui professionnel, technique et financier aux milieux chargés de promouvoir et de préserver le patrimoine documentaire et d’assurer l’accès à celui-ci; L'élimination du PNDA se traduira par l’abolition de 11 des 13 conseils provinciaux et territoriaux d'archives ; ces conseils assurent le fonctionnement quotidien des services d’archives à travers le pays. Nombre de ces conseils ont déjà été contraints de suspendre leurs opérations. Les institutions d'archives qui ont investi des ressources importantes dans la préparation de demandes de financement du PNDA ont été contraintes de suspendre leurs projets qui avaient déjà été approuvés par le CCA. De nombreux emplois ne pourront donc être comblés. Par conséquent, le mandat des services d’archives visant à assurer la transparence du gouvernement et à rendre l'information disponible aux citoyens, ainsi qu’à préserver les documents de la culture et la société canadiennes, sera grandement diminué. En outre, le gouvernement fédéral a envoyé plus de 500 avis de postes excédentaires à Bibliothèque et Archives Canada ; par conséquent, son personnel sera réduit de 20%. BAC a également annulé son programme de prêt entre bibliothèques, le personnel de la référence a été coupé sous les auspices d’un «nouveau modèle de service» qui exige que le public prenne un rendez-vous pour toute demande de référence. BAC a aussi coupé les catalogueurs d’un tiers, alors que les archivistes des secteurs privés et les spécialistes des médias connaissent des coupes de 35 % ; cela signifie non seulement qu’une part significative du patrimoine canadien ne sera pas acquise, mais aussi que les chercheurs ne seront pas en mesure de rencontrer les experts qui connaissaient leurs domaines de spécialisation, car ces experts n’existeront tout simplement plus. Du même souffle, le gouvernement a unilatéralement fermé les bibliothèques dans les domaines du transport, de l'immigration et des travaux publics. L'effet de ces coupures et de ces fermetures est absolument dévastateur et constitue rien de moins qu'une attaque aveugle aux acquis de la communauté des archives et à ceux qui dépendent de l'accès aux archives pour leur travail et leurs recherches. Mais ces attaques ne sont pas isolées; le gouvernement conservateur a systématiquement pris pour cible les organisations et les institutions qui recueillent, conservent, analysent et rendent l'information disponible aux citoyens canadiens. Statistique Canada a été la cible d'agressions des conservateurs, comme fut le Polar Environment Atmospheric Research Laboratory (PEARL) à Eureka, au Nunavut. Statistique Canada a été forcé d'abandonner le formulaire long obligatoire du recensement, ce qui était essentiel à la distribution des ressources du gouvernement sur une base équitable, tandis que la recherche PEARL contribuait à la collecte de données liées au réchauffement climatique. En outre, dans ces périodes d'austérité, le gouvernement conservateur a alloué un montant de 8 $ millions de dollars supplémentaire à l'Agence du revenu du Canada pour cibler les organismes de bienfaisance enregistrés engagés dans des activités politiques. Comme archivistes, nous disons: «Assez, c’est assez !». Nous ne permettrons pas que le gouvernement fédéral et les cadres supérieurs de BAC compromettent, attaquent et détruisent le réseau canadien des archives et le patrimoine que BAC et les autres institutions d’archives de ce réseau conservent et mettent à la disposition des Canadiens. Nous ne permettrons pas que des idéologues puissent détruire le travail de générations d'archivistes. Nous ne permettrons pas que les archives paient seules le prix de guerres culturelles. Nous allons nous battre. Le 28 mai prochain, joignez-vous à nous pour cette manifestation : Archivistes, en marche vers Ottawa. Comme nos prédécesseurs qui, lors de la Marche sur Ottawa de 1935, ont protesté contre la mauvaise gestion du gouvernement pendant la Grande Dépression, nous, archivistes en colère, et nos alliés, d'un océan à l'autre, allons descendre à Ottawa et d'autres endroits à travers le pays ce 28 mai, et nous serons entendus. http://archiviststrek2012.tumblr.com/ Twitter:@ArchivistsTrek Facebook: Fight the Budget Cuts to the Library and Archives Canada

Another nail in the coffin of Canadian culture

I've been personally impacted by another nail in the coffin of Canadian culture courtesy of Prime Minister Harper's Conservative government. I manage a Web site and a database that's been funded through an annual grant from the federal government to a non-profit society. That funding's been elmiminated effective immediately with no warning to either the many individual organzations or the umbrella organizaton that administers the grant applications. I'm talking about the National Archival Development Program (NDAP), money for which came out of the Library and Archives Canada's budget. In 2001 the British Columbia Ggovernment made a similar budget cut when it eliminated its grants to community archives through revenue from gambling (see https://aabc.ca/resources/grants-and-funding/ under Community Gaming Grants). The elimination of NDAP is not, at least in Britich Columbia, a case where costs can be passed on or offloaded to the province simply because there no longer is a comparable funding program to NDAP in our province. Of course is Harper's government cancelled but one of those fighter jet orders that money could pay for NADP for many more years to come.

Canada tough on crime and criminals, not on foreign criminals

There's a story circulating about a quite famous personage who used to live in Canada. He gave up his Canadian citizenship in order to enjoy the privilege and honor of being part of the British government which had been denied him by a former Prime Minister of a Liberal government. His business dealings in the United States eventually saw him convicted of fraud and he spent time in prison there. His wife is a Canadian media personality and lives in Toronto. Today Canada has a new business-friendly government that claims it's tough on crime and criminals, especially foreign criminals. So how is it that this individual was granted a one-year residency permit? Why would Canada want to admit into the country a man who spent time in prison and who is not even a Canadian? In Section 36 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, only the Minister can make an exception to allowing a convicted criminal into Canada, so it's kind of odd that the Minister responsible for immigration is blaming his officials and claiming protection under the federal privacy act for not disclosing details. I think this would be a case where the public interest should be satisfied and I suspect the federal privacy act has an exception to that effect. After all, this individual is not a Canadian and he is a convicted criminal. Canadians have a right to know why he's being allowed into Canada.

Internet usage billing in Canada: who watches the watchers?

I, along with many others, are deeply troubled by the CRTC's decision on Internet usage billing. Here are some of my thoughts collected over the past two or three weeks on this subject. Some of these were intended for a letter I plan on sending to Shaw, my home Internet Service Provider (ISP).

First and foremost is the problem of the CRTC itself. The Victoria Times-Colonist in a February 4, 2011 article called the regulatory agency a "watchdog". This is a watchdog that appears to have the run of the yard with no restraints. Who watches the watchdog? What is the court of appeal for CRTC decisions? Is the appeal process something that is affordable for the ordinary Canadian? Is the CRTC public input process simple enough that the ordinary Canadian can understand the issue? If I understand the Internet usage billing decision sequence of events, it came about due to a submission by Bell Canada in October 2010 which wanted to charge its smaller customers who provided "unlimited" bandwidth Internet service plans more money based on actual bandwidth usage. Could anyone have predicted this outcome, a public backlash by individuals, organizations, corporate Canada and the government?

Second, while CRTC Chairman Konrad von Finckenstein rationalized that "Internet services are no different than other public utilities," I don't think the CRTC has ever reviewed bandwidth capacity and the caps set by the large providers such Bell, Rogers, Shaw, and Telus. If the CRTC is equating itself to the provincial regulatory bodies that oversee, for example, the amount of money charged to consumers for electrical consumption, then should the CRTC also not ensure that bandwidth usage caps for various Internet subscription plans are also reviewed and regulated. The fact that various large ISPs have different bandwidth caps partly demonstrates to me that the caps should be much higher than they currently are given that the large providers are also selling excess capacity to smaller providers in much the same way Canadian electrical utilities export excess power.

Third, the idea that there's some super-class of Internet consumers identified by von Finckenstein who use it "heavily" and are engaged in "excess use" (the words quoted by the Times-Colonist in its February 4 article) and are being subsidized by "the vast majority of Internet users" (Times-Colonist, February 4) sounds fair on the surface, except for the fact that all the ISPs already and have always billed "heavy users".

Fourth, who are these heavy users? If you are not one now, you likely will be in the future.

I, along with others, believe the CRTC's decision will have unintended negative consequences for the Canadian economy. The most immediate consequence will be, given that the "unlimited" bandwidth option provided by the smaller providers that lease bandwidth from the large ISPs appears to be doomed, more Canadians, myself included, who run their own Web servers will be looking for unlimited bandwidth services outside of Canada, thereby taking dollars out of Canada that really should be spent here.

As people worry about their bandwidth consumption, they will likely spend less time, money and thought online. It's the last that's particularly frightening because unlike any other telecommunications medium, the Internet allows for real-time collaboration in a synthetic environment that the stuff of science fiction a couple of decades ago.

Mind the Cap, stop Canadian Internet usage billing

According to OpenMedia.ca, the Canadian Radio-television & Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) affirmed the ability of Canadian Internet Service Providers such as Shaw, Rogers and Bell, the Big Three in Canada, to charge customers for usage over their allotted monthly bandwidth quota.

If you want to help Stop the Meter On Your Internet Use, you can do so through an online petition (below) as well as by writing to the Hon. Tony Clement, Canada's Industry Minister who indicated on February 1, 02011 that he will review the CRTC's decision. You can also use Facebook and Twitter to support this campaign.

STOP ... Premier Gordon Campbell resigns ... STOP

Yes, it's true and all over the media in BC and beyond, but Premier Gordon Campbell resigned today as leader of the BC Liberal Party and has called for a leadership convention at the earliest opportunity. Here's a link to a Google News Canada search that will bring up news stories about this event.