Bill C-16 (Historical)

Charities Registration (Security Information) Act

An Act respecting the registration of charities and security information and to amend the Income Tax Act

Charities Registration (Security Information) Act

[Martin Cauchon, Liberal, Minister of National Revenue and Secretary of State (Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec)]

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to address Bill C-16, which I am introducing jointly with my colleague the solicitor general.

Charities play a critical role in the achievement of goals, both here and abroad, that Canadians deem important. Charities provide humanitarian assistance in times of crisis. They promote the building of civil society in developing countries. They provide help to the needy and they work to respond to social concerns and problems.

To recognize this and to encourage Canadians to support charitable activities, the Income Tax Act grants significant tax privileges to charities. Charities are accountable for how they use donations. They hold the public trust and they depend on public confidence.

The bill provides the legal means to deal with any suspected abuse of charitable status by terrorist supporters who try to use charities to disguise their activities.

This bill will also guarantee that tax privileges granted to registered charities are provided only to organizations that engage in charitable activities under the Income Tax Act. Above all, it will guarantee to Canadians that their donations to registered charities in Canada will be used for legitimate purposes.

As members know, the tax incentive related to gifts to charities is administered under the charities registration process. These legislative provisions and the registration process administered by the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency are evidence of the clear intention of parliament to support, through the tax system, activities conducted for charitable purposes under Canadian legislation.

In Canada, as in other common law jurisdictions, the courts have been very clear that the pursuit of political objectives falls outside the legal bounds of charity. Any organization that operates in whole or in part to support political aims and objectives would not be eligible to receive charitable status for income tax purposes.

The use of violence or the threat of violence to achieve a political aim, regardless of the cause concerned, cannot be reconciled with the legal concept of charity. The bill before us today addresses very serious international concerns about terrorist activities.

Canada as a nation and Canadians individually do not and cannot tolerate terrorist activities. In order to maintain public trust in the treatment of charitable organizations, the government must ensure that the tax privileges available to such organizations do not benefit any organizations using violence to attain their goals.

Certain organizations which condone acts of terrorism are also involved in humanitarian assistance and community development programs. They may therefore attempt to make a distinction between that part of the organization which engages in terrorism and that part which provides humanitarian services.

This bill makes it impossible to sanitize a terrorist organization merely by keeping humanitarian activities separate from terrorist activities on the organization chart. It is naive to think that the purpose of these groups' assistance activities can be kept separate from their use of violence to attain their political goals, unless the intention is to deceive.

This bill makes it clear that Canada will not tolerate the abuse of our democratic system and institutions to promote and fund terrorism. We will not allow terrorists to obtain charity status by concealing their terrorist operations behind charitable activities.

Canada is not the only country to take steps to prevent terrorist organizations from passing themselves off as legitimate charities. In July 1996 all of the G-8 countries made a commitment “to take steps to prevent or counteract, through appropriate domestic measures, the financing of terrorists and terrorist organizations, whether such financing is direct or indirect through organizations which also have or claim to have charitable, social or cultural goals”.

The legislation is part of Canada's response to this international concern. It is not the total solution. It addresses only the issue of tax incentives that are being provided to organizations whose activities are not consistent with the concept of charity.

Such provisions do however indicate a step in the right direction. As confirmed by the report presented in 1999 by the special senate committee on security and intelligence, taxation measures applicable to charitable organizations are exposed to the possibility of abuse.

The committee pointed out that a variety of groups with terrorist affiliations are carrying out fundraising activities in Canada and that benevolent or philanthropic organizations often serve as fronts for fundraising.

The report specifically points out that such groups use the status of registered charity under the Income Tax Act to enhance their credibility. It also suggests that Canadian taxpayers may be unwittingly supporting violent political actions by these groups through donations they believed were going to provide humanitarian aid.

This is unacceptable. Canadians have every right to expect that registered charities are charitable as the term is understood by the law. We have a clear onus to ensure the integrity of the system and to take whatever steps are necessary to see that the legislative framework for the system guards against abuse.

This is what the bill does. It protects the registration of charities by providing recourse to secret information, to security information, relevant to the determination of a charity's right to receive donations providing tax relief. To this end, it in fact creates a parallel appeal process.

The automatic judicial review process will be used only when the solicitor general and the national revenue minister take steps to revoke or refuse a registration on the grounds that donations are being used to support acts of terrorism.

The proposed process will make it possible to consider all information relevant to national security in determining the status of the charity, while protecting from inappropriate disclosure delicate information on national security. The rules currently in effect requiring full public disclosure will continue to apply in all other appeals.

This bill demonstrates the government's commitment to building Canadians' trust in the voluntary sector and in the integrity of our tax administration. This is a step that should be welcomed by all concerned about our charity registration system.

To close, we cannot and will not neglect our responsibility to all Canadians to ensure tax measures relating to charitable organizations are respected and may be controlled.

This is the very foundation of public trust in tax measures applying to charities. This trust is fragile and must be protected. The bill realizes this objective.

[Peter MacKay, Progressive Conservative, Pictou—Antigonish—Guysborough, NS]

Mr. Speaker, I as well am pleased to have an opportunity to put a few remarks on the record with respect to Bill C-16, which is a very important piece of legislation dealing with charitable organizations and regulations that relate to fundraising activities in Canada. I could not agree more with my hon. colleague from Winnipeg—Transcona that the process in which we are pursuing this matter is a very important part of the debate.

The Westray issue in particular is something of great interest to me as this tragedy occurred in Plymouth, Nova Scotia in the constituency of Pictou—Antigonish—Guysborough. There was an unusual coming together of members of parliament on that issue of workplace safety and the broader implications that exist for those who can be injured in the workplace. We saw this past weekend recognition in a day of memorial, a day of remembering those who died in the workplace. We should be renewing our efforts in that regard as well.

To speak specifically to this issue, this is a piece of legislation that puts in place a judicial process by which the government would be able to deny charitable status to any group found to be supporting terrorist activity. Much of this, I suggest, will have to be fleshed out in terms of the organizational definition and the definition of terrorist activities, yet it is certainly a step in the right direction. It is a positive initiative which the Progressive Conservative Party will support in this initial stage.

This legislation is long overdue. The Conservative Party has been very consistent in calling upon the government to act in this direction to curtail terrorist activity in Canada. We qualify this support, realizing once again that the government tried to initially deal with this problem through avoidance. Since that did not work it has been literally shamed into bringing forward this legislation, which sadly does not go quite far enough. It is a typical legislative half measure. The support of our party therefore will hinge on our ability to bring forward amendments and to delve into greater detail at the committee level.

It is important that we send a message of deterrence and a message that rings throughout the country that this type of terrorist activity funding and enhancing of terrorist causes will not be perpetrated in Canada and will not be tolerated by government or by law enforcement communities. Other western countries have enacted similar legislation so Canada is following the leader in a sense. It is certainly important that ethnic Canadians are not coerced unknowingly into becoming charitable fronts for terrorist fundraising activities.

Canadians are a magnanimous people by nature. I know that in your part of the world in Kingston, Mr. Speaker, that could not be more true. Canadians generally want to give. They want to reach out and help. My colleague from Cumberland—Colchester raised the issue today of the need to do more to help other countries and to do more for the African AIDS epidemic where so many millions of people are suffering from this horrible disease.

Meanwhile we need to have some safeguards to ensure that these causes are genuine and that these fundraising activities are those in which the most amount of aid and assistance will actually be obtained by those groups. We need to ensure that in our effort to combat terrorism, legislation does not unfairly target legitimate, peaceful, law abiding fundraising groups, especially those fundraising groups of different ethnic backgrounds that engage in very valuable fundraising activities or initiatives for the betterment of their communities.

I am hopeful that we will be able to produce legislation that will improve public safety for the country and meet this balance that is required while not trampling on the rights of those who are in some instances very vulnerable citizens in this country and are making very legitimate efforts to try to assist those from their originating countries in their plight.

Bill C-16 sets up a process by which organizations supporting terrorist activities could be denied or lose their charitable status. If the solicitor general and the minister of revenue, after reviewing security and criminal intelligence reports, have reasonable grounds to believe that an organization makes or will make resources available to terrorism, they both would be required to sign a certificate. The organization would then be given notice of this certificate and the matter would be referred automatically to the federal court for a judicial review. The applicant would have the opportunity to apply to the federal court to have its identity protected and a judicial process would then occur.

The federal court could and would provide the applicant with an opportunity to introduce evidence, call witnesses and cross-examine in a public forum. This is a very important process in getting to the root of the allegation if the group is suspected of being involved in terrorist activity and fundraising.

This process would allow for the review and the classification in camera, and the judge would then provide the organization with a summary of the classified information produced. The summary would contain sufficient information to allow the organization to respond but would also exclude information that the judge has determined would be injurious to national security and the safety of persons. There is a fairly indepth and comprehensive process there to protect the rights of those involved. Confidentiality is often very critical in the integrity of the process, but to be very blunt, it is often a matter of life and death. These terrorist groups are very ruthless in their activities, and the repercussions and the revenge factor are certainly real.

If confirmed, the certificate would then be valid for three years and the judge's decision would be final and not available for or subject to appeal. However there is a provision for review if there is a change in the material circumstances of the organization.

All of this is to say that Bill C-16 provides a very good starting point. However some of this process is going to have to be worked through and more detail put in place.

Terrorists often look outside their borders. That is clear. Canada, because of the financial and material resources that exist here, is very much a target of terrorist organizations. Over the past number of years the approach to terrorism, I would strongly suggest, has been inadequate and has allowed, to a large extent, terrorist fundraising activities to thrive and to flourish in Canada. The regrettable result is that terrorist organizations have been able to exert their influence over and even infiltrate some very legitimate operating Canadian organizations that already have charitable status.

Recently we have seen concern raised over the charitable organization known as the Federation of Associations of Canadian Tamils, FACT, which has been identified by federal lawyers as a front for the known terrorist organization, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. Justice department lawyers have said that the Tamil Tigers engaged in torture, mistreatment of prisoners, summary executions, ethnic cleansing of Muslims and kidnapping and forcible conscription of children, all absolutely abhorrent activities. I am sure that some who may have contributed to this organization would be appalled to think that their money went to that organization for those purposes.

We have seen similar fundraising activities that play upon the emotions and the passions of Irish Canadians. For many years in this country we have seen Irish Republican Army activists who have tried to raise money for what turned out to be explosives or weaponry that was used to perpetrate their cause. That cause is thankfully now through due to the peace process and to negotiations in Northern Ireland and is moving in a very positive direction.

It needs to be stated that Canadian Tamils have made valuable contributions to the country. The fact that the particular organization is one of several political and benevolent front organizations that support a terrorist organization has resulted in a great deal of controversy in the House of Commons. It demonstrated the reach of such terrorist organizations into what seemed to be a well intentioned charitable group. It is also a reminder to Canadians of the care that must be taken and the background checks that must be made before any well intentioned person decides to aid in an effort of a charitable group.

Donations to a charity qualify for tax credits which reduce federal taxes by 17% for the first $200 of eligible donations and 29% of the balance to a limit of 75% of income. Such donations also reduce provincial taxes.

The legislation is positive in its direction. The difficulty is that police often have trouble making the connection between a charitable organization and the terrorist front that is being used for that purpose. Fundraising fronts usually take care to commit no crime in this country and police can currently only lay charges of conspiracy if a direct connection can be established.

There is much work to be done in this area. The United Nations General Assembly adopted the international convention for the suppression of the financing of terrorism, but Bill C-16 falls somewhat short of Canada's obligations under that convention. Other countries such as the United States and Great Britain make it completely illegal to provide material support or resources for any group that the government has found to be a terrorist organization.

Canada can learn from the example of other countries. We have an opportunity to improve the legislation and we hope that we would have the opportunity to do that in the justice committee. There may be some need to refer the bill to another committee, but wherever it goes we would be looking to improve it.

[Bill Blaikie, NDP, Winnipeg—Transcona, MB]

Mr. Speaker, thank you for the opportunity to speak briefly to the referral of Bill C-16 to committee. It is a procedure that is not used all that often.

Bill C-16 is a bill which is well suited to this kind of examination in committee before second reading so that no parties in the House, and particularly the government, find themselves committed to any particular position on the bill. It leaves the way open for members on the committee to explore all the various concerns that a great many people have expressed about the bill.

Having listened to the Parliamentary Secretary to the Solicitor General, it seemed to me that he made a speech that was more appropriate for a traditional second reading debate in which he vigorously defended the bill and the government's position on the bill. That is not what should be happening now. The bill is going to committee before second reading presumably because the government has some sense that there are things which need to be looked at before any final commitment on the part of the government is made to the passage of the bill.

There would be an opportunity for people to come forward, as they have been doing through correspondence to various members of parliament, particularly those associated with this file, and express their concerns on the record before the committee.

Another bill which may be suited to this kind of process would be a bill that the government could bring forward having to do with workplace safety and changes to the criminal code with respect to the charging of companies or individuals of companies responsible for the death of workers on the job through corporate negligence.

I am referring to a bill that existed in the last parliament that was sometimes called the Westray bill. Our party was pushing that bill in the last parliament, particularly our leader, the hon. member for Halifax. We were urging the government to act on that particular issue.

It would seem to me if the Minister of Justice, as she has said to me, wants to hear from more Canadians, if she is not prepared to act on the Westray file at this moment, that bringing forward a piece of legislation and referring it to committee before second reading so that more people could be heard on that particular subject would be a good idea.

I make no apologies for using the opportunity when we are employing that process with respect to Bill C-16 to say that there are other issues which are equally important and which I think the government should act on by using this particular process. One of them could certainly be acting on the Westray file, that is to say, changing the criminal code in such a way that the kind of activity that led to that particular tragedy would be the kind of activity that could be gone after much more efficiently than it can be gone after now.

With respect to Bill C-16, there is no need to speak at great length about the bill. We want to see it go to committee. I would say that the government should be open, as I think I already know it is, as to whether or not it finally should go to the justice and human rights committee because the justice and human rights committee is a very busy committee. We have Bill C-7, the youth criminal justice act, Bill C-15, the omnibus amendments to the criminal code and the organized crime bill, and there will be more. I would hope the government would consider whether or not at some point, perhaps in discussion with House leaders, if we could agree to send this bill for this kind of an examination to some other committee, a committee that can do it sooner. It is not because we do not want to do it in the justice committee, but perhaps we could agree to send it to some other committee whose calendar of work would permit it to do this earlier.

Surely all Canadians would agree that if this is a problem that needs to be addressed then it should be addressed sooner rather than later. I put it on the record that we should look at perhaps where we might refer this bill for this kind of study. We could always change it by unanimous consent.

A number of groups have already expressed concern about the bill, but I will say briefly that we in the NDP support the principle of the bill, which is that taxpayers should not be funding, surreptitiously or innocently by virtue of deception any particular organization or terrorism activity either here or in any other country.

If my understanding of the bill is correct, I think what the government has in mind here is terrorism abroad. When I listened to the Alliance spokesperson complain that the bill does not fight terrorism in the many ways that he thinks it should, he may be right that there are other things the government could be doing to fight terrorism, but the bill is directed toward amendments that need to be made to the charities act.

In fairness to the government, we could say that it should be doing this, that and the other thing, and that all may be true, but the bill itself, it seems to me, zeros in on a particular problem and that is, how can we prevent the Canadian taxpayer from subsidizing terrorism through the charities act? How can we do that in a way that does not interfere with the legitimate activities of a great many charities which may in fact be configured in relationship, not necessarily to another country or to a cause in another country, but configured culturally or ethnically in a way that leaves them open to that suspicion or may in fact, depending on what is actually the case, leave them open to being used in that particular way?

Many of the groups that would fall into that category have a legitimate concern, I think, that they not be dragged through a process in which, even if at the end of that process they are found to be innocent, they would nevertheless have expended a great deal of time, energy and perhaps reputation in defending themselves against that charge. How can we balance that concern with the very real concern that some organizations may actually be or may be tempted to be or may in the past have been or may in the future act in such a way that the moneys which Canadians give to them, which are tax deductible, are used in some way or another for terrorism?

I will end by saying that one of the things we need to keep in mind while trying to find this balance is that we also need to do a lot more critical thinking about what constitutes terrorism, particularly when we are talking about terrorism abroad, which is mostly the kind of terrorism we are talking about. It is sometimes a very political matter what is defined as terrorism, which is obviously unacceptable, and what is defined as resistance or legitimate rebellion or whatever.

One is reminded of a time in the House when one left oneself open to very severe criticism if one spoke in any sort of supportive way of the African National Congress and the anti-apartheid movement. Yet there were acts of violence associated with the anti-apartheid movement and the African National Congress within South Africa. Would that have meant in the context of this bill that anti-apartheid groups in Canada who were raising money for the cause of anti-apartheid in South Africa could have been dragged through the process that this bill lays out?

I ask that question because it is a legitimate concern. The task of the committee will be to address that concern while at the same time respecting the principle of the bill that Canadian taxpayers should not be funding terrorism.

[Pierrette Venne, Bloc, Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the bill respecting the registration of charities and security information and to amend the Income Tax Act seeks to counter activities in support of terrorism as provided under the convention on the financing of terrorism which was approved by the United Nations.

Through its bill, the government wants to counter terrorism by preventing supporters of terrorism from engaging in fundraising or the transfer of money and materiel abroad.

The bill seeks to deny support to terrorist activities and to protect the integrity of the charity registration process through the fair and transparent use, to the extent that it is possible, of confidential information that could jeopardize national and human security.

Concretely, this bill seeks to prevent organizations that are related to terrorist groups from obtaining the status of charities. This should help reduce the funding of terrorist activities. The legislation would, among other things, facilitate the use of confidential information to determine the eligibility for registration as a charity or to revoke the registration of a registered charity.

It is interesting to note that the minister does not define what he means by "terrorism" even though the purpose of the bill is precisely to counter the funding of organizations that engage in such activities. Such an omission can of course lead to a broad or liberal interpretation of the term. This means that in a highly politicized context there is always a potential risk of abuse.

In that perspective, we have no guarantee that the criteria used for interpretation purposes will allow us to distinguish between the funding of legitimate activities, such as political protest, and that of violent activities. The word "terrorism" must be thoroughly defined.

As for the judicial review of the certificate, while the procedure is relatively simple, it does raise some concerns. First, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service will inform the solicitor general and the Minister of National Revenue that it has come to the conclusion that an organization is fundraising to finance terrorist activities.

On the basis of that notice the ministers can then start procedures to prevent that organization from getting the status of charity or to revoke its registration.

Given that this process is set in motion by an administrative notice to the political arm, which then issues a certificate, we feel that this approach is flawed by the absence of any possibility of judicial control.

As a result, the impossibility of filing an appeal places any organization faced with such a procedure at the mercy of errors or political and judicial administrative abuses which might arise from excessive alarmism. Knowing that CSIS practices are not above reproach, we are concerned.

In addition, there is the absence of control mentioned earlier. What reasons could the organization give for purposes of control or appeal, when it is not entitled to know the information giving rise to the certificate?

But there is no objection to giving it information which does not pose a threat to national security. In other words, it will be given information which is not really relevant because the denial or revocation of charitable status will be based on information which could pose a threat to national security.

Finally, the only procedural guarantee the organization is allowed is the audi alteram partem rule. But one might wonder just how useful that is since the organization will not have access to the facts and the reasons for the certificate being issued.

The section on evidence raises equally important concerns. First, under a procedure provided for in the bill a judge will be able to allow evidence regardless of its admissibility.

By disregarding specific rules of evidence the government is ignoring the contradictory nature of our judicial system. The bill would institute an inquisitional procedure which is unacceptable in a free and democratic society.

As we have only ten or so minutes each, I will skip over a few of my remarks and go to the heart of the issue.

We wonder how anyone could possibly think an accused would have the impression that justice had been done. For that to be the case, there would at least have to be the appearance of justice. The whole thing is hard to verify, when the evidence is revealed in camera, in the absence of the principal parties. It can be said therefore that in the case before us the procedure stands out because of its almost total lack of transparency.

The organization mentioned in a certificate will be able to apply for a review by showing that a material change has occurred in circumstances since the determination. This is an interesting possibility since the organization is permitted to mend its ways.

However, if we consider the problems raised previously it seems to me uncertain that an organization can prove this. In order to prove reform, a party must know the allegations against it.

Once the ministers have given their decision, the organization will have all the time in the world to apply to the federal court to review the decision. Once again this possibility appears to accord certain procedural guarantees.

Unfortunately, this is not entirely the case. In fact, the ministers do not seem to have to give reasons for the decision that is to be reviewed. In addition, the federal court will review the decision only if it was given under subclause 10(5)( b ) of the bill, that is, if the circumstances have changed but the certificate continues to have effect.

This implies therefore that when the ministers conclude that the situation has not changed materially, the federal court does not have real review power. In such a case it can only quash the decision on the grounds that the circumstances have materially changed and return the file to the ministers for another determination. In this way, there is no real control because the file goes back to those who made the original determination.

The aim of this bill is most worthy, but the means to achieving it are dubious. At the moment, as it is written it snags on too many principles of justice to be passed in its present form. The committee will have to improve it significantly, otherwise, it would set a dangerous precedent in terms of the violation of procedural guarantees.

Some will say that charities may be a disguise for terrorist organizations. Even if they are right, I do not believe the right thing is being targeted. It is somewhat absurd to think that the supporters of terrorist organizations want to take advantage of tax credits.

One may even wonder to what extent this bill is not a roundabout way of enabling the minister to control taxation. It must be kept in mind that terrorism is not financed exclusively through charitable organizations. Although the government is attempting to show that it is taking concrete actions against terrorism, with this bill it is opting for facility rather than really attacking the source of the problem.

In actual fact, all it is doing is making sure that tax receipts cannot be issued for financing terrorist activities.

I agree is a very real phenomenon and we must help fight it. On the other hand, do we need to recreate psychoses such as there were in the era of fear of the communist threat, or worse still, go back to the era of the Inquisition and its search for heretics? I think not.

I believe it would be far more effective for the criminal code to properly address the financing of criminal activities for this would focus directly on those involved in such acts.

In short, to conclude, Bill C-16 could be summarized as follows: suspicion, discretionary power, enigmatic proof, and lack of control.

[Lynn Myers, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Solicitor General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to speak today to Bill C-16 which is an act designed to allow the government to use and protect classified security, criminal intelligence and information in denying or revoking the charitable status of an organization with terrorist affiliations.

Bill C-16 balances the government's need to protect classified information against the basic requirement to ensure fairness and transparency in assessing the status of registered charities or applicants for charitable status.

The objective is to prevent the abuse of the charity registration system now and in the future by those few organizations that would provide support to terrorism.

I would like to share with members a quick overview of the pressing challenges we as a government face, and indeed all Canadians, that makes this bill so essential in contributing to Canada's effort to combat terrorism and just as important to preserve the integrity of Canada's registered charities system, one of the country's greatest social strengths.

I would also like to briefly discuss the process by which Bill C-16 was developed, how it will work, its importance and benefit to Canadian society and public safety and how it integrates with broader efforts devoted to international security.

Bill C-16 responds directly to the 1999 report of the special Senate committee on security and intelligence which observed that groups with terrorist affiliations conduct fundraising activities in Canada often using benevolent or philanthropic organizations as fronts.

One of the report's key recommendations called for the Income Tax Act to be amended to allow Revenue Canada, as it was called then, to deny charitable registration to any group on the basis of a certificate from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service stating that the group constitutes a threat to the security of Canada.

We have also been listening to Canadians. We know that they look to the federal government in many ways, and in this way as well, to take a leadership role in remaining vigilant and ready to act to prevent terrorist activities from taking place in Canada.

We also know that Canadians want us to take any action that is appropriate and necessary to protect basic and core Canadian values. The legislation would help us address concerns expressed over the past few years by various ethnic groups, by the voluntary sector and by the Canadian public in general. The integrity and essential contributions of charitable organizations must be protected and maintained.

Canadians need to be assured that if they are approached to support a charitable organization, they can be confident that it is a bona fide organization.

The legislation allows the government to respond to threats to the public safety and national security of Canada and to other states stemming from front groups using charitable status to cloak in the blanket of legitimacy their activities in support of terrorism. We all know that terrorism is a global problem that ignores borders. That is why Canada is and must be committed to working globally to fight it. For this reason, Canada works in a wide range of international fora to encourage both the collective condemnation of terrorism and effective, practical action against it.

Over the last number of years a series of G-8 communiques and declarations and United Nations conventions and resolutions have addressed the issue of terrorism and more specifically the financing of terrorism. These international statements and agreements depend on action by Canada and other partner countries to give them life.

Starting in 1995 with the Ottawa ministerial declaration on countering terrorism, G-8 countries agreed to: share intelligence and technical knowledge; share information on terrorist organizations and terrorist incidents; share expertise on the protection of public buildings; and improve procedures for tracing and tracking suspected terrorists. At the same time they agreed to pursue measures aimed at depriving terrorists of their sources of funding.

In February of last year Canada was one of the first countries, and we should be proud of this, to sign the international convention for the suppression of the financing of terrorism. Canada has been a vigorous advocate in this area.

Terrorism is not new to the modern world. What is new is the magnitude of the terrorist activities undertaken by groups to further their goals through indiscriminate violence and destruction. The tools of terrorism cost money. Many terrorist organizations have devised unscrupulous methods of finding the money they need. This bill will put a stop to one of those methods, that being the use of charitable tax receipts to help support the use of violence in pursuit of a political objective.

Canadians want a charity system that can be trusted and is not open to abuse. They want a system and legislation that strikes a balance between the need for transparency and the need to deal firmly and effectively with those who would seek to abuse the system.

The bill therefore carries a dual mandate, closing the back door through which organizations supporting terrorist groups are subsidized by Canadian taxpayers, while at the same time ensuring that the standards of procedural fairness enshrined in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms are met.

There is currently a judicial process in place to review applications for charitable status or to revoke charitable status for those organizations that do not meet the requirements of the Income Tax Act. The classified information is not used in the current process since disclosure of such information would damage national security. A special legislative regime is needed to allow this information to be used, and that is precisely what the bill provides.

The process outlined in this bill is based on the immigration act and has withstood scrutiny by the courts. A certificate based on security and criminal intelligence information is issued by the Minister of National Revenue and the Solicitor General of Canada. Both ministers review the information separately and independently. The certificate is then reviewed by a judge of the Federal Court of Canada who in turn determines if the certificate issued by the ministers is reasonable or should be quashed. Sensitive intelligence information is reviewed by the judge and a summary of that information is provided to the applicant for charitable status or the registered charity, as the case may be.

The organization is entitled to legal counsel and to a hearing at which evidence may be presented. It is only after the certificate has been confirmed by a judge that the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency would deny or revoke charitable status.

The certificate is valid for a period of three years. However it can be cancelled within that three year period if the organization presents new information which supports a conclusion that its resources are no longer being used to support terrorism.

The Speech From the Throne confirmed the government's intentions and commitment to further provide the necessary tools to fight terrorism. The bill is one of the tools the Government of Canada requires to wage the battle effectively. Canada is a country built on diversity. Our strength is based on diversity. In order for Canada to continue to grow and flourish it is important that our diverse nature be recognized and accepted.

The bill reinforces a clear message of the government that the use of violence to perpetuate conflicts is inconsistent with the values of a tolerant multicultural society which is Canada.

Some will say the bill does not go far enough. They will say we need to do more to combat terrorist fundraising in Canada. Let me say on behalf of the government that clearly there we agree. That is why Canada was one of the first countries to sign the UN convention last year. Our commitment is clear. We will fulfill our international obligations and will do so in accordance with Canadian values.

The bill is an important and necessary step. That is why we are here to debate it today. This small but necessary step in our fight against terrorism and the support of terrorism through fundraising is very important.

I hope we can look forward to the support of all parties on this very important piece of legislation. After all it is what Canada is all about.

[Don Boudria, Liberal, for the Solicitor General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, I move:

That Bill C-16, an act respecting the registration of charities and security information and to amend the Income Tax Act, be referred forthwith to the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights.

Questions On The Order Paper

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

(Bill C-16. On the Order: Government Orders)

March 15, 2001—The Solicitor General of Canada—Second reading and reference to the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights of Bill C-16, an act respecting the registration of charities and security information and to amend the Income Tax Act.

Petitions

[Yolande Thibeault, Liberal, Saint-Lambert, QC]

Madam Speaker, it is my privilege to table in the House a petition signed by 42 constituents of my riding of Saint-Lambert.

They ask the government to bring in amendments to Bill C-16, the charities registration act. They suggest that the bill violates fundamental freedoms and would like to see legislative safeguards added to ensure that it does not disproportionately target ethnic or religious groups.

Business Of The House

[Marlene Catterall, Liberal, Ottawa West—Nepean, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. Discussions have taken place among all parties and I believe you would find consent for that if a recorded division is requested Monday, April 30 on a motion to refer Bill C-16 to committee before second reading, pursuant to Standing Order 73(1) it shall be deemed deferred until the end of government orders on Tuesday, May 1.

Discussions have also taken place among all parties and there is agreement pursuant to Standing Order 45(7) to further defer the recorded divisions requested earlier today on third reading of Bill C-9 and third reading of Bill C-3 from Monday, April 30 until the end of government orders on Tuesday, May 1.

[Don Boudria, Liberal, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Speaker, let me begin by congratulating the opposition House leader on his appointment and to extend as well similar words of congratulation both to his seatmate, the new chief whip, and the other officials of his caucus.

This afternoon we will continue debate on the second reading of Bill C-6, the water export bill. I intend to seek adjournment of the debate after the speech from our colleague from the Bloc Quebecois on this matter.

If there is any time, we will commence the second reading of Bill C-25, the farm credit amendments bill. It would be my intention as well to adjourn the debate after the lead off speech from either the government minister or parliamentary secretary, as the case may be. We would then propose to move immediately to private members' business this afternoon.

Friday we will debate second reading of Bill C-26, the tobacco tax legislation.

On Monday we will return to Bill C-6, which will not be completed this afternoon. We will then continue with Bill C-25 for the same reason, and then, if necessary, to Bill C-26, the tobacco tax legislation, if we do not complete it tomorrow. If we have any time left, it will be spent on Bill C-10, the marine parks bill, as I previously indicated to my colleagues at the House leaders meeting earlier this week. In the afternoon we will debate Bill C-16, the charities bill. I wish to give notice pursuant to Standing Order 73(1) that the government will propose that this bill will be referred to committee before second reading. This should, in essence, take roughly the time between 3.00 p.m. and the adjournment later in the afternoon.

Tuesday shall be an allotted day. In the evening it is my intention to seek the usual co-operation to hold the second of the take note debates on the modernization of House rules. It would be pursuant to consultation with others. My intention is to see if we want to have this debate using the forum we used very successfully earlier this week, but, as I said, I intend to consult with other House leaders on that.

On Wednesday I would propose that we continue with any unfinished business from the previous days, adding thereto Bill S-16 which was introduced in the House earlier this day. Should we be ready to do so, and should time permit, I would then commence the report stage and third reading of Bill C-22, the income tax amendments bill.

Charities Registration (Security Information) Act

[Lawrence MacAulay, Liberal, Solicitor General of Canada]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-16, an act respecting the registration of charities and security information and to amend the Income Tax Act.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)