Charitable Status is on the Ballot
It might be the “sleeper issue” of this campaign.
Last December, the Liberal-NDP dominated Finance Committee passed a recommendation calling on the government to strip charitable status from religious organizations (all faiths) AND from any organizations with pro-life convictions. Notably, these are two separate recommendations – the proposal is to strip charitable status from BOTH religious organizations AND from pro-life organizations (not just from organizations that happen to be both).
These proposals were made in December. As such, they could likely be implemented in a federal budget released this spring. A budget has not been proposed yet because of the election, but the election winner will likely propose a budget shortly after you vote. Whoever wins the election will decide what happens next. This means that, as I recently told the Catholic Register, charitable status is on the ballot.
Vote Conservative and Protect Charitable Status. If you vote Liberal, charitable status may be stripped from 40% of Canadian charitable organizations.
Facing pressure over this issue, a Liberal candidate in New Brunswick absurdly claimed that “there is no policy to remove charitable status from churches”. Well, sorry Karen Ludwig, just like with the stunt with the buttons, Liberals are spreading misinformation. But don’t take my word for it — see for yourself: the Finance Committee report with the recommendations can be found here. It was tabled in the House of Commons by Liberal chair Peter Fonseca on December 13th, 2024 at 12:10pm. Specifically in the report, you’ll find Recommendation 429 and 430 regarding the stripping of charitable status, on page 58.
(Somewhat ironically, Recommendation 428 addresses tax havens — something that has also been a matter of discussion in this election.)
Some organizations have actually reached out to the government in hopes of getting clarity on this. However (as reported by the Catholic News Agency):
“Canada’s Finance Department has avoided providing a clear answer to a written appeal from the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) urging the federal government not to adopt budget recommendations that would strip charitable status from “anti-abortion” and “advancement of religion” non-profit organizations.”
As I wrote back in January in my local newspaper column, in the midst of all the challenges that Canadians are facing, it is bizarre to see the NDP and Liberals positioning for further attacks on charitable organizations. Charitable status should be accorded to organizations that do good work in Canadian communities, without ideological or religious prejudice. Stripping charitable status from religious organizations will gravely threaten the important work that they do, and worse, the wellbeing of those whose lives their charitable work is impacting the most.
Those who are involved in or care about the work of these charitable organizations should keep in mind — charitable status is on the ballot.
More on Charities
A recent study by Cardus, a non-partisan Christian think tank, found that the net-positive socio-economic contribution of all religious congregations in Canada is estimated to be in the ballpark of $16.5 billion. (‘Net’ meaning that this figure already accounts for tax exemptions and credits.) Their research suggests that, on average, religious congregations contribute more than 10 times the value that their charitable status “costs” Canadians. This value extends far beyond their respective congregations and deep into our communities, often in the form of soup kitchens, homeless shelters, group addictions counselling, and more.
For more information on this issue, you can also check out a podcast episode I did on this with some key leaders in the charitable sector: