Mr. Speaker, I delayed standing up because I know other members have petitions as well, and I have more than one to table today.
First of all, I would like to begin by tabling another petition similar to that tabled by colleagues in response to this very concerning recommendation from the Liberal-dominated finance committee in the previous Parliament.
Notwithstanding his protestations, the member for Winnipeg North can observe in this report, as petitioners say, recommendations 429 and 430. Recommendation 429 proposes applying a political values test to charitable status determination and revoking the charitable status of organizations that take a position on abortion that is different from that taken by the government. Recommendation 430 of that same report, endorsed by the Liberal-dominated committee, calls for the removal of “advancement of religion” as a charitable tax purpose. That would effectively strip charitable status from all houses of worship, regardless of religion.
Petitioners further note that stripping charitable status from these organizations would result in a revocation tax, which would force them to hand over all of their property. That is an extremely draconian proposal from the Liberal-dominated finance committee.
Petitioners note that religious charities in Canada provide vital services for society, including food banks, care for seniors, newcomer support, youth programs and mental health outreach, all of which is rooted in their faith tradition, and that singling out or excluding faith charities from the charitable sector based on religious belief undermines the diversity and pluralism foundational to Canadian society.
Petitioners ask the government to reject these recommendations and refrain from including them in the next federal budget, which we will see eventually, I suppose, and to affirm the charitable status of faith-based organizations whose work flows from sincerely held beliefs and whose contributions serve the common good in Canada.