“ | National Post The Canada Revenue Agency’s (CRA) definition of “political activities” might sound like an obscure detail of little import. But it is, in fact, one of the main ways in which the government controls this country’s charitable organizations, by restricting them to spending no more than 10 per cent of their resources on advocating for a change in law or government policy.
That means it is considered a political activity for an animal welfare charity to try to convince the public that stricter limits on deer hunting would be a good idea, or for a senior citizens’ charity to run a public campaign urging for crosswalks to be replaced with traffic lights at crossings near seniors’ homes.
And with millions of extra dollars budgeted for investigating political activities as a special project, the CRA has been busy over the past few years auditing dozens upon dozens of Canadian charities to enforce this restriction. These investigations have touched groups on all parts of the political spectrum, draining time, money and the courage to voice concerns about the status quo. Continue reading
The Bovine 