Today, the BC Humanist Association called on the Department of Finance to use Budget 2025 to protect human rights and uphold religious neutrality.
The deep economic and geopolitical uncertainties that we face are driven in large part by American Christian Nationalist ideologies. Our collective response to these challenges must involve a robust defense of the values of freedom, equality and multiculturalism that are enshrined in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
We therefore recommend the Government of Canada use Budget 2025 to protect human rights and uphold religious neutrality by:
- No longer providing charitable status for anti-choice organizations,
- Making meaningful investments in reproductive justice and LGBTQ2S+ equality,
- Amending 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 and
- Amending the Income Tax Act by repealing section 8(1)(c), the clergy residence deduction.
In December, two of the BCHA's recommendations - to no longer provide charitable status for anti-choice organizations and to modernize charitable purposes - were included the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance's report on its pre-budget consultations.
The Department of Finance's consultations are open until March 10, 2025. Supporters can complete the consultation questionnaire online or provide formal submissions by email to [email protected]