Godfrey–Milliken Bill
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The Godfrey–Milliken Bill, also called the American Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (Loyalty) Act, was a
private member's bill A private member's bill is a bill (proposed law) introduced into a legislature by a legislator who is not acting on behalf of the executive branch. The designation "private member's bill" is used in most Westminster system jurisdictions, in whi ...
introduced in the Canadian parliament by
Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...
MPs Peter Milliken and
John Godfrey John Ferguson Godfrey, (born December 19, 1942) is a Canadian educator, journalist and former Member of Parliament. Background Godfrey was born in Toronto, Ontario. His father, Senator John Morrow Godfrey (June 28, 1912 – March 8, 2001), ...
. The bill was intended as a parody of the American
Helms–Burton Act The Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (Libertad) Act of 1996 (Helms–Burton Act), , , ) is a United States federal law which strengthens and continues the United States embargo against Cuba. It extended the territorial application of the i ...
. The Helms–Burton Act set up stringent punishments on any business or person that profited from property of American businesses and people that had been seized in the Cuban Revolution. The bill included a policy of punishing foreign nations and companies who had profited from this seized property (which in practice means trading with
Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
at all, since everything in Cuba is in some way connected to such property). This included a number of Canadian companies. The 1996 bill responded by calling for descendants of
United Empire Loyalists United Empire Loyalists (or simply Loyalists) is an honorific title which was first given by the 1st Lord Dorchester, the Governor of Quebec, and Governor General of The Canadas, to American Loyalists who resettled in British North America duri ...
who fled the
American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...
to be able to reclaim land and property that was confiscated by the American government. The bill would have also allowed the Canadian government to exclude corporate officers, or controlling shareholders of companies that possess property formerly owned by Loyalists, as well as the spouse and minor child of such persons from entering Canada. In total some three million Canadians are descendants of United Empire Loyalists, including Milliken and Godfrey. The current value of the land and property seized during the American Revolution is many billions of dollars. The bill received widespread attention in Canada and also some publicity in the United States, including a feature on ''
60 Minutes ''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who chose to set it apart from other news programs by using a unique styl ...
''. The Godfrey–Milliken Bill did not become law. Milliken later supported Bill C-54 to amend the
Foreign Extraterritorial Measures Act The ''Foreign Extraterritorial Measures Act'' (french: Loi sur les mesures extraterritoriales étrangères) is a statute of Canada. The Act was enacted by the Canadian Parliament in 1984 and became effective February 14, 1985, in an attempt to blo ...
which effectively neutralized any attempt to enforce the Helms–Burton Act on Canadians or Canadian companies. The amendments blocked access to Canadian records for the prosecution of any case under the Helms–Burton Act, allowed the Attorney General to block Canadian courts from enforcing judgments emanating from US jurisdictions against Canadian defendants, permitted Canadian defendants to counter-sue in Canadian courts, and imposed a $1.5 million fine (equivalent to $ million in ) to any Canadian entity that aided any prosecution under Helms–Burton.


See also

*
Canada–Cuba relations Canada–Cuba relations are the bilateral relations between Canada and Cuba. Informal trade relations between the colonies of Atlantic Canada and the Captaincy General of Cuba have existed since the 18th century. The informal trading relationship ...
*
Canada–Caribbean relations Canada–Caribbean relations are the long established relationships between Canada and the many states of the Caribbean or West Indies. These ties have been on-going throughout the history of both regions. Initially these relations were based on ...
*
Canada–Latin America relations Canada–Latin America relations are relations between Canada and the countries of Latin America. This includes the bilateral ties between Canada and the individual Latin American states, plurilateral ties between Canada and any group of those st ...
*
Cuban Canadian Latin American Canadians (french: Canadiens d'Amérique latine; pt, Canadenses da América Latina; es, Canadienses de América Latina) are Canadians who are descendants of people from countries of Latin America. The majority of Latin American ...
* Foreign relations of Canada *
Foreign relations of Cuba Cuba's foreign policy has been fluid throughout history depending on world events and other variables, including relations with the United States. Without massive Soviet subsidies and its primary trading partner, Cuba became increasingly isolate ...
*
United States embargo against Cuba The United States embargo against Cuba prevents American businesses, and businesses organized under U.S. law or majority-owned by American citizens, from conducting trade with Cuban interests. It is the most enduring trade embargo in modern hist ...


References


External links

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The text of the Godfrey-Milliken Bill (C-339)


*

* ttp://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/43b/080.html The Godfrey–Milliken Bill – A Canadian response to the Helms–Burton Law Sam Boskey, October 29, 1996 {{DEFAULTSORT:Godfrey-Milliken Bill 1996 in Canadian law Proposed laws of Canada Boycotts of Cuba 35th Canadian Parliament Canada–Cuba relations Canada–United States relations