In our most recent report, the BC Humanist Association called on municipalities to adopt regular benefits tests for tax exemptions granted to places of worship. These tests, the report states, are necessary to ensure potential recipients of tax exemptions — which total millions each year — provide services that benefit the community as a whole. This measure would provide much needed safeguards to prevent tax funds from supporting organizations that operate as private clubs, discriminate against protected groups, operate commercial enterprises, or break the laws, such as COVID-19 regulations.

To unpack this report and peel back the curtain on all the work that went into it, we're hosting a live talk with our research team — Teale Phelps Bondaroff, Research Coordinator, and Adriana Thom, Policy Researcher. Join us at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, March 3 to find out the whole story on religious tax exemptions in BC, and how this report came to be.