NEW YORK – In response to budget recommendations made by the Canadian government that would have “severe and wide-ranging consequences,” the Permanent Council of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops has written to the nation’s Minister of Finance and Intergovernmental Affairs defending the value and role of faith-based charities.
Late last year, the Canadian government published Pre-Budget Consultations in Advance of the 2025 Budget. Two of the recommendations made by the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance made in the report, if passed, could see Catholic charitable organizations lose their charitable status.
The first, recommendation #429, would “no longer provide charitable status to anti-abortion organizations,” according to the text. Meanwhile, the second recommendation, #430, would, “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,” the text states.
In the letter, the Permanent Council of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops highlights that the Catholic charitable sector provides essential services and ministries to Canadians regardless of religious affiliation, including foodbanks, soup kitchens, refugee resettlement programs, climate and social justice programs, daycares, schools, hospitals, long-term care homes, and more.
“Given the fundamental and contributing role of religious charities in Canadian society, we urge the government to abandon Recommendations 429 and 430,” states the council’s letter, which is dated March 10. “Indeed, we ask the government to avoid any legislative changes that would disproportionately target, destabilize, or harm faith-based organizations, inadvertently affecting the millions of Canadians who benefit from their initiatives.”
The letter is addressed to Dominic Leblanc, Canada’s Minister of Finance and Intergovernmental Affairs.
The Permanent Council of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops consists of 12 members – four members from the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops Executive Committee, four ex officio Members, representatives from each of the four Regional Episcopal Assemblies (Atlantic, Quebec, Ontario and the West), and representatives from the two Sectors.
Presently, the council is led by Bishop William McGrattan of Calgary, who is the president of the CCCB.
On recommendation #439, the letter argues that it is open to broad interpretation, targets a specific subgroup in the charitable sector, and risks giving preferential treatment to organizations that align with the sitting government’s agenda rather than using the existing laws to grant charitable status.
“Putting aside the questionable nature of the claim against so-called ‘anti-abortion organizations,’ we have no objection to the necessity of transparency and accountability within the charitable sector,” the letter states. “However, such requirements should not negatively prejudice charitable organizations that operate on the basis of valid moral positions which may diverge from those of a sitting government at any point in time.”
On recommendation #430, the letter argues that it would “threaten the very future of Canada’s entire charitable sector, considering 40 percent of the nation’s charitable organizations are faith-based.”
“To deprive faith-based organizations of charitable status would decrease donations, causing their revenue to dwindle, thus crippling their ability to continue inspiring, operating, and maintaining essential social services that benefit the wide community,” the council wrote.
According to the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, which also wrote to the Canadian government to oppose the recommendations, more than 30,000 of the 73,000-plus registered charitable organizations in Canada are faith-based, and would fall under the “advance religion” criteria. Further, a 2024 study from Cardus – a non-partisan Canadian think tank – found that the cost of replacing the services offered by faith congregations in Canada is approximately $16.5 billion.
The Canadian government remains in the pre-budget consultation phase of the 2025 federal budget process. The consultation phase allowed Canadians from Feb. 14 until March 10 to submit feedback to the recommendations. Now, the feedback is being reviewed by the Department of Finance.
To close the letter, the Permanent Council of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops expressed a desire to further discuss their concerns with the federal government, and to work with the federal government “to preserve the integrity and effectiveness of Canada’s entire charitable sector.”
“We remain hopeful that Canadians will continue to enjoy freedom of religion and expression while maintaining a vibrant and sustainable charitable sector for the benefit of all,” the letter states.
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