Fundamental political leadership demanded that Prime Minister Trudeau unequivocally declare before Christmas whether he would try to continue leading Canada or resign.

Now, in the new year, so does charity. And not in any abstract or metaphorical sense. Tens of thousands of charities across this country had their operating budgets pulverized by the postal strike that the Liberal government allowed to drag on for a month during the critical Christmas fundraising period.

Perhaps aware that it had once again inflicted damage on Canadians despite its best policy intentions, the government offered a post-Christmas make-up gift by announcing an extension for charitable tax receipts. Qualifying donations made until Feb. 28, it announced, would be eligible for deductions in the 2024 tax year. It’s a strong incentive to give because it means donors can claim their credits now rather than waiting until they file their taxes for 2025. 

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Alas, once again, what the Trudeau government gives generously it invariably manages to mire in confusion and jeopardy. The catch is in the opening line of the Dec. 30 media release from Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc, right under the headline “Government of Canada announces extension of 2024 charitable donations to February 28, 2025.” 

In fact, as LeBlanc acknowledged, the government was really announcing its intention to “amend the Income Tax Act to extend the deadline for making donations eligible for tax support.” Amending the Income Tax Act, of course, means introducing legislation in the House of Commons. 

In the normal course of Parliamentary business, passage of such an amendment through the House, committees, and Senate would be a slam dunk. Such urgent-for-the-country bills, when political leaders unite around them, can be sped through from introduction to Royal Assent in a matter of sitting hours.

The key requirement, obviously, is for the House to be sitting. It is now prorogued, meaning no parliamentary business will be conducted until March 24. Quickly thereafter, Canadians might be in the midst of an election campaign, which is why  passage weeks ago of LeBlanc’s tax amendment could not have been more critical.

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The announced extension seems irrelevant unless another way can be found for charitable organizations to issue tax receipts on delayed donations before March. How can they know whether such receipts will be legal under the Income Tax Act? Compounding the schlemozzle is the end of the RRSP season when Canadians, including charitable donors, are preparing their tax returns for the April deadline. How many will simply say “might as well wait and give next December?” 

The delay, uncertainty, jeopardy, and potential disincentive are particularly galling given that an Imagine Canada survey released on Dec. 12 showed Canadians were in a mood to give. Some 65 per cent said they planned to give during the holiday season, up from 49 per cent in 2023. More, the umbrella charitable group reported, more were inclined to give more. 

There’s more than a one season’s missed opportunity at stake. There is the very real risk of deep functional damage to the charitable sector. As Imagine Canada CEO Bruce MacDonald noted: “Many Canadians donate in the last eight weeks of the year with an estimated 40 per cent of all donations coming in during the holiday season.” Some organizations, he added, were not even able to deliver their year-end appeals because of the postal strike. 

Finance Minister LeBlanc himself put the issue in context by pointing out that Canada’s 86,000 registered charities and non-profits benefit an aggregate $5 billion by being able to issue federal tax receipts. Full disclosure: The Catholic Register is among them. We’re experiencing the financial crunch along with everyone else as a result of the virtual collapse of donations in late November and early December. 

Truth be told, we lost a promising young, devoutly Catholic reporter to a secular media outlet over Christmas because uncertainty prevented us from matching a salary increase this year. To be clear, we don’t put our role communicating the Catholic faith and the vitality of Canadian Catholic life on the same moral and spiritual plane as the work of those who feed the hungry, clothe the poor, and comfort the sick or imprisoned.

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But we are part of the larger charitable collective effort that, as the finance minister said, commits itself “tirelessly to address poverty and hunger, improve socioeconomic outcomes for Canadians, and keep communities connected and informed.” 

It’s why, standing with those 86,000 other organizations, charity, not just politics, the prime minister should have informed Canadians weeks ago of his intentions.