Christian Legal Fellowship has submitted an open letter to the Department of Finance, as well as the Minister of Finance and National Revenue, urging the government to preserve the integrity of the charitable sector. The letter has now been endorsed by over 290 Canadian lawyers and law students.
The letter arrived on the Minister’s desk ahead of the tabling of the 2025 Budget, which is set to take place in October. It was also submitted to the Department of Finance in response to its invitation for formal submissions for its 2025 Pre-Budget Consultations.
The letter outlines concerns arising from Recommendations 429 and 430 of a previous report of the Standing Committee of Finance, which called on the federal government to “remove the privileged status of ‘advancement of religion’ as a charitable purpose” and “no longer provide charitable status to anti-abortion organizations”. In response, the lawyers’ open letter urges the government to take the following steps:
Reject Recommendation 429, and affirm that no registered charity may have its registration revoked or be subject to any other penalty solely because it or any of its members, officials, or supporters exercises, in relation to beliefs about the sanctity of human life, the freedom of conscience and religion guaranteed under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms; and
Reject Recommendation 430 and maintain and affirm “Advancement of Religion” as a head of charity, recognizing the significant public benefit that religious congregations and institutions provide to Canadian society.
The letter encourages “even-handed state support of religious and conscientious freedoms”, in keeping with Canada’s constitutional tradition of religiously-positive pluralism:
“Philosophical and religious disagreements are inevitable in a free and democratic society like Canada. But these disagreements should never be used to disqualify, hinder, or deny the provision of charitable services by diverse faith communities, nor deprive the millions of Canadians who need, and benefit from, them.”
As CLF explained in its written brief to the Standing Committee of Finance earlier this summer, “Religious charities account for nearly 40% of all charities in Canada, thus providing indispensable social, economic, and spiritual support, filling a significant gap in our communities, and meeting the needs of millions of Canadians.”
The 290+ legal professionals who endorsed the open letter have called on Parliament to not only reject Recommendations 429 and 430, but to affirm religious charities in Canada, noting that “ultimately, any efforts to substitute the work of religious charities would place an extraordinary strain on all levels of government, with the burden being felt most by the individuals and communities that these organizations serve on the front lines.”
CLF remains committed to its longstanding advocacy on freedoms of religion and conscience in Canada, including for communities of faith across Canada working in the charitable sector.
To read the open letter, see below.
**We continue to invite lawyers and law students to add their names to this letter, which we also intend to share with other government officials in the near future. If you wish to add your name, please email us.**
Learn more:
CLF’s written brief to the House of Commons Standing Committee of Finance (August 2025)
CLF’s letter to the Minister of Finance and Chair of the Standing Committee of Finance (December 2024)
Special thanks to those CLF members who helped develop the letter, especially Rhys Volkenant and Stephen Hsia.