The agency has budgeted at least $13 million for these special audits, up from $8 million initially, and is making them a permanent feature of its work. Some have been critical of the Harper government's policies, especially regarding pipelines and the oil sands, and have been labelled "radical" and "money launderers" by senior Conservative cabinet ministers. Many say they are being slowly drained of cash for legal and other costs, and fear speaking out.
We'll see what the CRA thinks."Īn investigation by The Canadian Press has found numerous charities targeted with political-activity audits, from environment to international aid and human-rights groups. "There's a lot of room for interpretation. "They (the rules) are vaguely formulated," he said in an interview from Port Medway, on Nova Scotia's south shore. Slayton says Pen Canada has abided by the rules, but there are grey areas. Pen Canada, with only one or two full-time employees in recent years, officially reported just $237,000 in expenses for 2011-12 in its latest filing with CRA, none of it going to political activities.Ĭharities are permitted to spend up to 10 per cent of their resources on political activities, based on a 2003 government policy, though they cannot endorse any party or candidate. Spokesman Philippe Brideau said Monday that "the confidentiality provisions of the Income Tax Act prevent the CRA from commenting on specific cases." "The process for identifying which charities will be audited, for any reason, is handled by the (charities) directorate itself and is not subject to political direction," the director general of the directorate, Cathy Hawara, told a Canadian Bar Association group in May. The Canada Revenue Agency says its work is conducted without political direction from government. The list of targets includes Amnesty International Canada, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, Canada Without Poverty, and the David Suzuki Foundation.
The wave of audits was announced by the federal government in the 2012 budget, and some groups have been under threat of losing their charitable status for more than two years. This latest political-activity audit is among more than 50 that the agency has begun since 2012, which some critics have said creates an "advocacy chill" as charities self-censor for fear of losing their ability to raise funds through tax-deductible donations. The group has been highly critical of the Harper government in recent years for the muzzling of scientists on the public payroll, and for alleged spying on Canadian citizens in concert with U.S. Pen Canada represents more than 1,000 writers and supporters, including Canadian literary luminaries Margaret Atwood and Yann Martel, and presses for freedom of expression at home and abroad. Pen Canada's president, Philip Slayton, says the tax agency gave notice of the audit two or three months ago, and that the group is "fully co-operating." Two tax auditors showed up Monday morning at the tiny Toronto offices of Pen Canada, asking to see a wide range of internal documents. The Canada Revenue Agency has launched a political-activities audit of Pen Canada, a small charity promoting freedom of expression that has criticized the Harper government in the past.