Protect charitable status
Petitioners ask Parliament to reject Recommendations 429 and 430 and preserve current charitable‑status eligibility for faith‑based and pro‑life groups. The government responds it will not revoke faith‑based charities' status or remove advancement of religion.
Why we would sign this petition
- Keeps faith-based and pro‑life organizations able to operate as registered charities, preserving their tax benefits and ability to raise donations.
- Helps ensure continuity of community services those groups provide, which petitioners say would be costly to replace (petition cites $16.5B).
- Prevents singling out organizations for their moral convictions and avoids penalizing groups for expressing sincerely held beliefs.
Why we wouldn’t sign this petition
- Retaining status for all faith-based groups could shield organizations whose practices conflict with public policy from needed scrutiny or consequences.
- Opposing changes may limit government tools to ensure charities meet legal tests or to address harms such as discrimination.
- A blanket protection could be broader than necessary; targeted rules or clearer guidance might better balance rights and public interest.
The summary and both sets of reasons are AI-generated from the petition and given equal weight. Claims are the petitioners’ own; consult the official record for the full text.
Official petition
Petition to Glen Motz, Member of Parliament for Medicine Hat-Cardston-Warner We, the undersigned, urgently call for the rejection of all proposed legislative changes to the eligibility criteria for charitable status as recommended by the Standing Committee on Finance in its pre-budget consultations in advance of the 2025 Budget. Recommendations 429 and 430 would have severe and far-reaching consequences for faith-based and pro-life organizations that provide essential community services. Whereas, Recommendation 429 singles out a specific subgroup within the charitable sector, appearing to penalize organizations based on moral stances that may differ from those of the incumbent government rather than legal stances; and Recommendation 429 would unjustly prejudice organizations that operate based on legitimate moral convictions and provide legitimate pregnancy health and social support services. Recommendation 430 imperils the Catholic charitable sector in Canada, which is integral to Canada's social fabric, encompassing a wide range of community services and ministries, including food banks, soup kitchens, refugee resettlement programs, climate and social justice initiatives, daycares, schools, hospitals, long-term care homes and palliative care centers. A recent study estimated that replacing the services provided by faith congregations in Canada would cost $16.5 billion. For every dollar a congregation spends, the local community receives an average of $3.39 in economic benefit. We respectfully ask all members of parliament not to support legislation as found in Recommendations 429 and 430 and to protect the charitable status of faith-based and pro-life organizations. In doing so, the government will help ensure that these vital institutions can continue to serve millions of Canadians, regardless of religious affiliation.
Government response
Response by the Minister of Finance and National Revenue Signed by The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne The Government of Canada recognizes the vital role that charities, including religious charities, play in delivering essential services to some of the most vulnerable in Canadian society. To support their important work, registered charities are granted significant tax benefits and privileges, including the ability to issue official donation receipts for the gifts they receive. Under the Income Tax Act, an organization may only qualify for charitable registration where it is established exclusively for charitable purposes and devotes all its resources to achieving those purposes. The legal interpretation of “charitable purposes” has developed over time to include the relief of poverty, the advancement of religion, the advancement of education, and other purposes recognized as charitable, such as the promotion of health or the protection of the environment. Today, Canada is home to over 85,000 registered charities, representing a wide variety of causes, beliefs, and interests. Registration as a charity does not indicate government endorsement of an organization’s specific goals or views. Instead, it confirms that the organization meets certain conditions, including that it is constituted and operated exclusively for charitable purposes. These benefits are extended to a broad range of organizations providing socially beneficial activities to the public, from educational institutions to religious organizations, as long as they meet the legal requirements for registration. The Government of Canada is not considering amending the Income Tax Act to remove the advancement of religion as a qualifying charitable purpose or to revoke the status of faith-based charities that express their sincerely held religious views or that carry out activities consistent with their religious beliefs.