TORONTO, July 20, 2018 (LifeSiteNews) – A Canadian court gave charities the green light to engage in political activities this week but two of the nation’s leading pro-life groups say it’s unlikely to benefit the cause of life.
“It will benefit more people on the left wing who will now be able to do more with our tax dollars,” said Mary Ellen Douglas, national organizer for Campaign Life Coalition.
Natalie Sonnen, executive director of LifeCanada, agrees.
“Pro-abortion and pro-environment groups make full use of the 10 per cent they are allowed for political activities,” said Sonnen. “They will benefit more from this than we will.”
In a decision that dramatically changes the rules of the game for charities, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice ruled against the Canada Revenue Agency on Monday, throwing out its requirement that charities cannot spend more than 10 percent of their resources on political activities.
That’s good news for Canada Without Poverty, the charity that took the government to court when it ran afoul of the rules for its advocacy work.
That organization publishes and distributes poverty-related articles, commentaries and reports, including to government officials, and directs people to government programs and offices to get benefits.
Under the Income Tax Act, that’s political activity and so Canada Without Poverty ran into trouble back in 2015 after an audit of its activities. The group was in danger of losing its charitable status.
Not anymore.
Justice Edward M. Morgan ruled Monday the Canada Revenue Agency was unfairly limiting the charity’s freedom of expression by demanding it curtail political activities and threw out the 10-percent rule.
Canada Without Poverty and other charities, including pro-life groups, are now free to spend as much as they want on political activities.
“It’s a step in the right direction,” said Sonnen.
But there’s a catch.
While charities are suddenly free to take part in political activities, they cannot be partisan. That means Canadian charities can still run into trouble if they support particular political parties or politicians.
Pro-life charities in Canada still have to toe a fine line.
Although LifeCanada is not itself a charity, roughly half of its member groups are. And they live in a state of dread that some activity might be perceived as partisan politics and cost them their charitable status and ability to issue tax receipts to donors.
“Our groups feel threatened all the time,” said Sonnen. “We are cowed and afraid to speak up for fear of losing our charitable status.”
During the last Conservative Party of Canada leadership race, LifeCanada put out a statement that drew attention to three pro-life candidates, Brad Trost, Andrew Scheer, and Pierre Lemieux. LifeCanada told Canadian pro-lifers this was a tremendous opportunity and urged them to contact the candidates and political organizations for more information.
“We would do the same thing if there were great pro-life candidates in the Liberal Party,” said Sonnen.
Except, there aren’t.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made it clear in the last federal election that pro-lifers need not apply to run for the Liberal Party. Talking about specific political candidates – as LifeCanada did – could therefore potentially leave a charity in hot water.
“There is only one option so by default we look like we’re partisan if we’re educating on this issue,” said Sonnen.
The Ontario court’s ruling also makes it impossible for an organization like Campaign Life Coalition, a non-profit that lobbies extensively by supporting pro-life politicians and political parties, to re-jig its organizational structure to take advantage of tax breaks.
According to Douglas, that ruling on charities does not open up the door for pro-life organizations to benefit from a charitable status and issue tax receipts if they’re going to be involved in partisan political activity.
“It doesn’t affect Campaign Life Coalition because we’re a non-profit,” she said. “We’ve never been a charity because of our political work … It’s not going to make a great deal of difference for us.”
Pro-abortion charities, though, have always been able to get government money despite the 10 percent limit on political activities and so will remain unaffected as well, said Douglas.
“They are already political and do whatever they like but nobody bothers them because society agrees with them,” she said. “The pro-aborts are able to get at that charitable money because of the government we have. It fits in with their agenda.”