Last week, the Standing Committee on Finance published their recommendations (462 in total), arising from their annual pre-budget consultations. The recommendations have been tabled in the House of Commons and, according to the Committee, are to be considered by "the Minister of Finance in the development of the 2025 federal budget".
Yesterday, CLF wrote to both the Minister of Finance and the Finance Committee Chair to express concerns about two recommendations in particular:
“Recommendation 429: No longer provide charitable status to anti-abortion organizations.”
“Recommendation 430: 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.”
CLF is deeply concerned by any proposal to remove the “advancement of religion” as a charitable purpose. Such a move could have a devastating impact, not only on the 32,000+ religious charities in this country, but the millions of Canadians they serve. CLF has urged the government to reject any such approach, and clarify exactly what is being contemplated.
A copy of CLF's' letter is below: