By Quinton Amundson, The Catholic Register
[Toronto – Canadian Catholic News] – A Conservative Party MP suggests the charitable status of every Canadian house of worship and organization advancing religious values could be contingent on the outcome of the next federal election.
When Garnett Genuis, MP for Sherwood Park-Fort Saskatchewan, first heard about recommendation 430 in the House of Commons’ pre-Christmas finance committee report, he was “disappointed but not surprised.”
“This government has consistently attacked faith communities over the last nine years,” Genuis wrote to The Catholic Register. “Still, revoking the charitable status of every church, synagogue, mosque, temple and gurdwara is a proposal that goes further than they’ve gone up until now.”
Specifically, recommendation 430 calls on the finance minister to “amend the Income Tax Act to provide a definition of a charity which would remove the privileged status of ‘advancement of religion’ as a charitable purpose.” In addition to houses of worship, faith-based food banks, emergency shelters and pro-life organizations — notably crisis pregnancy centres — would lose their non-profit designation.
The finance minister is not mandated to adopt all the committee proposals outlined in the Pre-Budget Consultations in Advance of the 2025 Budget.
Neither the Conservatives, Bloc Québécois or NDP outright dissents against this Liberal proposal in their opinions attached to the report. However, Conservative MPs have voiced opposition in the media, and the party launched a nationwide petition bidding the government to “reject the absurd mean-spirited attack on religious organizations recommended by the NDP-Liberal dominated Finance Committee.”
Influential voices in the faith arena are also encouraging the Canadian government to abandon this course of action. Toronto’s Cardinal Francis Leo wrote to Minister of Finance Dominic LeBlanc Feb. 21 to express his “deep concern” over recommendation 430. Leo said the proposal to strip away charitable status from faith-driven non-profits “demonstrates a lack of understanding of the critical role religiously affiliated groups offer in every corner of the nation.”
“Aside from social service programs, places of worship are spiritual homes for hundreds of thousands of Canadians each week, relying on these havens of hope, peace and prayer to nurture their souls, promote emotional/mental well-being, strengthen their families and provide a social gathering space that reinforces community life,” Leo wrote.
The cardinal also noted that religious charities account for approximately “40 per cent of the more than 73,000 charitable organizations registered with the Canada Revenue Agency” and that “removing their charitable status would have a devastating impact and send a divisive message to Canadians from your government.”
Campaign Life Coalition, the political arm of the Canadian pro-life movement, also opposed this suggested finance directive by launching a new nationwide awareness campaign and a petition that has garnered 3,800 of the desired 4,000 signatures as of March 3.
The email blast alludes to the revocation tax that activates once an organization loses its charitable registration. According to the Government of Canada, the tax “is equal to 100 per cent of the value of all remaining assets, after you have paid all your debts.”
Campaign Life president Jeff Gunnarson wrote that “if the religious group or church cannot pay this tax, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has the power to seize and liquidate any and all assets to satisfy the debt.”
Describing recommendation 430 as an “all-out assault on Christians,” Gunnarson told the Register he “has faith that it is not going to happen,” but “if it did it would be absolutely catastrophic because our culture and country is underpinned by the good works of people of goodwill and that’s individuals, organizations and institutions.”
Alluding to Toronto, Gunnarsson suggested that if these services are stripped away, you can examine “the darkest stain in any given part of our city and just multiply it by a factor of 10 or 100.” He challenged Canadians to contemplate homelessness, crime, drug use and disorder on the streets significantly greater than what it is presently.
The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada also spoke out by urging LeBlanc via letter “not to follow the recommendation of the Finance Committee, but instead to recognize the relevance and benefits of religion to the charitable sector and Canadian public life.”
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