By Quinton Amundson

The Catholic Register

The Department of Finance Canada is playing coy in reaction to the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) March 10 written appeal urging the federal government to not adopt federal budget recommendations that would strip the charitable status of “anti-abortion” and “advancement of religion” non-profits.

A statement provided to The Catholic Register March 13 by the finance department’s media relations officer Marie-France Faucher did not directly allude to the CCCB nor its specific concerns surrounding recommendations 429 and 430 of the pre-budget consultations in advance of the 2025 budget.

Faucher devoted much of her email response toward offering platitudes about how “the Government of Canada recognizes the vital role charities play in delivering essential services to those in need,” and dispensing general information about how an organization may apply for charitable registration under the Income Tax Act.

The only remark she rendered about the next budget was how the finance department “continues to explore ways to ensure the tax system remains fair and effective in supporting Canadians and the organizations that serve them.”

The CCCB’s permanent council addressed its March 10 letter to then Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc. On March 14, François-Philippe Champagne was moved to the finance cabinet portfolio by newly minted Prime Minister Mark Carney. 

Though a week of transition in the nation’s capital following the Liberal leadership election on March 9 could understandably discourage department staffers from delivering authoritative statements on policy, a clearer stance on the concerns is required soon, the CCCB said.

The CCCB’s letter highlighted that “40 per cent of all charitable organizations in Canada are faith-based.” The bishops said depriving these 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 wider community.”

Among the 14 signatures on the letter are conference president Bishop William McGrattan, vice president Bishop Pierre Goudreault, Cardinals Francis Leo of Toronto and Gerald Lacroix of Quebec and Montreal Archbishop Christian Lépine.

Campaign Life Coalition applauded the permanent council’s letter.

“Thank God the Canadian bishops have joined in this fight to save Christian Canada,” said Campaign Life national president Jeff Gunnarson. “Canada, as our Charter states, ‘is founded upon principles that recognize the supremacy of God.’ The government is attacking the very foundation of our country with these proposals. United together we will stave off this governmental assault on our nation and our treasured faith.”

Chalice, the Canadian Catholic international child sponsorship charity headquartered in Bedford, N.S., is one of the non-profits registered with the Canadian Revenue Agency that would be targeted by recommendation 430.

Chalice founder and president Fr. Patrick Cosgrove said in an email the recommendation “reveals a negative bias against religion that is not supported by the evidence that active faith and the practise of religion have a measurably positive impact on society and the individual.”

Cosgrove, whose 29-year-old organization operates 52 sites in 14 different countries, said a 2018 study released by the Christian research organization Barna found Christians are more likely than others to donate clothing or furniture, provide food and volunteer to serve in the community.

Pregnancy Care Canada executive director Laura Lewis sent a letter to LeBlanc on March 6. Lewis noted how recommendation 429 “does not define the scope of this proposal," leaving it unclear how an organization will be classified as “anti-abortion.” She added that the mission of Pregnancy Care Canada and 81 affiliated centres is to offer alternatives to abortion.

“The free support available at local pregnancy care centres is crucial to providing a national safety net for women looking for support for an unexpected pregnancy,” said Lewis.

She also suggested that recommendation 429 is a method to actualize a pledge in the Liberals' 2021 election platform to “no longer provide charitable status to anti-abortion organizations that provide dishonest counselling to women about their rights and about the options provided to them at all stages of pregnancy.”