1,000 signatures reached
To: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Minister of National Revenue Diane Lebouthillier
Tell Ottawa: Stop the political-activity audits of environmental groups.
It's time to stop harassing environmental groups and other charities and to let them do their work.
That's what the Liberals promised to do in the last election. They made the promise after the Harper government poured millions of dollars to launch dozens of political-activity audits of environmental groups and anti-poverty and human-rights organizations.
The charities just happened to be critical of policies of the Harper government. That's why the Liberals condemned the program as "tax audit harassment" and a "witch hunt" against critics of the Harper government.[1]
Well, it's time for the Liberals to make good on the commitment to allow charities to do their work "free from political harassment."[2]
Why is this important?
A strong democracy requires freedom of expression.
That's why the blunting of the ability of civil society to advocate and to engage in that most fundamental democratic right – debate and, occasionally, dissent – should concern us all.
But that's what's happening today in Canada.
You see, CRA rules permit Canadian charities to devote up to 10% of their organizational resources to "political activities." And charities report annually what they're up to to show how they're complying with this rule.
Back in 2012, the Harper government decided to spend millions auditing environmental groups, and later anti-poverty and human-rights charities, to see if they were doing too much "political work."
Interestingly, right-wing charities, like the Fraser Institute, reported zero political activity and didn't catch the attention of CRA.[3]
Earlier this year, National Revenue Minister Dianne Lebouthillier announced CRA would begin "winding down" these audits, but later reversed course and announced 24 political activity audits launched during Harper's time in power would continue as planned (but no new audits would be launched).
One of the charities, Canada Without Poverty, has now launched a constitutional challenge to stop the CRA from stripping its tax-exempt status on the grounds that it's too politically active. The group says its constitutional right to free expression is being violated unreasonably.
"They’re not wrong," The Globe and Mail argues in a recent editorial.[4]
"The case is a vestige of the former Conservative government’s 2012 decision to pour millions into targeted CRA audits of charity groups – something many in the charitable sector denounced as a witch hunt. The Liberals halted all new audits this past January, but allowed 24 probes to continue.
"As a concept, charity has its roots in 17th-century English law. But the more appropriate modern definition might be: whatever the Canada Revenue Agency and its political masters say it is."
It's time for the political masters to step in and do the right: end the political-activity audits of 24 charities that just happened to disagree with policies of the Harper government.
Sources:
1. As Harper's CRA audits continue, right-wing charities report zero 'political activity' again: https://www.pressprogress.ca/as_harper_cra_audits_continue_right_wing_charities_report_zero_political_activity_again
2. Liberal platform: https://www.liberal.ca/files/2015/10/New-plan-for-a-strong-middle-class.pdf
3. Stephen Harper's CRA: Selective Audits, "Political" Activity, and Right-leaning charities: https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/broadbent/pages/16/attachments/original/1430005311/Stephen_Harper's_CRA.pdf?1430005311
4. Like unions and political parties, charities deserve freedom of speech: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/editorials/like-unions-and-political-parties-charities-deserve-freedom-of-speech/article31728320/