(LifeSiteNews) — A think tank has warned that the Liberal’s plan to strip churches of their charitable status will have “devastating consequences” for Canada’s future.
In an October report from the Frontier Centre for Public Policy, scholar and researcher Pierre Gilbert revealed the dangers of the Liberals’ plan to strip places of worship of their charitable status while encouraging Canadian churches to stand up to the Liberal government.
“If adopted, the measure could strip churches, mosques, synagogues, temples and religious charities of their charitable status,” a press release accompanying the report warned. “The impact would include the loss of income tax exemptions and the inability to issue charitable tax receipts. They could also face a one-time penalty tax that effectively wipes out most of what they own.”
As LifeSiteNews previously reported, before last Christmas, a proposal by the all-party Finance Committee suggested legislation that could strip pro-life pregnancy centers and religious groups of their charitable status.
Recommendation 430 aims to “amend the Income Tax Act to provide a definition of a charity which would remove the privileged status of ‘advancement of religion’ as a charitable purpose.”
Many Canadians have warned that the proposed legislation would wipe out thousands of Christian churches and charities across Canada.
The report, titled Revoking the Charitable Status for the Advancement of Religion: A Critical Assessment, revealed that tax exemptions for churches have been part of Canadian practice since the county’s founding as “churches played a central role in education, healthcare, and social welfare.”
The report stressed the “substantial contributions of religious organizations, estimated at $16.5 billion annually to Canada, and their role in preserving cultural values and Charter-protected religious freedoms.”
However, as the Canadian government moved further from religion and embraced secularism, calls to revoke the tax exemption grew. Now, churches face increased government scrutiny as most religious groups opposed abortion and the LGBT agenda, both of which are embraced by the Liberal government.
“These churches already are and will continue to face mounting pressure to conform to the moral standards promoted by the government and the prevailing cultural norms,” the report warned, adding that the push to remove charitable status is “primarily driven by ideological biases.”
However, the report stressed the importance of maintaining religious groups, particularly in the face of the rising LGBT movement.
“Although the current fixation on sexual identity may well continue to fuel the marginalization of churches in Canadian society, as already pointed out, we contend that preserving a diversity of perspectives is essential, even when certain views may offend some,” the Frontier Centre declared.
“The survival of Western civilization in our country may well hinge on Canadians rediscovering those eternal truths the Judeo-Christian tradition has safeguarded over the centuries,” it predicted.
The report encouraged church leaders to take action against the proposal, warning that “many leaders naively assuming that governments are sympathetic to the good done by faith-based organizations and have their best interests at heart.”
“Given the fiscal and ideological forces at work, coupled with growing hostility towards Christian churches, it would seem foolhardy to assume this antagonism will abate or disappear without churches stepping forward and defending themselves,” it continued.
The report encouraged Canadians to view the proposal “not as a threat but as an urgent call for them to recommit to their life-affirming mission. Only by embracing such bold and audacious action can the church restore its status as an important and relevant institution within Canadian society, a goal well worth fighting for.”
As LifeSiteNews reported in March, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) appealed to the Liberal government to rethink the plan to strip pro-life and religious groups of their tax charity status, stressing the vital work done by those organizations.
Similarly, Conservative MPs have repeatedly condemned the motion, warning that it “undermine(s) the good works that these groups do for the most vulnerable Canadians.”
