I'll be frank. Internally Ecojustice has found the government's approach on this issue of charitable activities by the environmental community to be offensive.
Ecojustice has been around for 20 years, and 75% to 80% of our budget comes from average Canadians. We don't accept government money. We accept very little corporate money, because our corporate screen is so tight. We do accept some U.S. foundation money. I think it might be 2% or 3% of our budget.
It just strikes us as more than rich...it strikes us as a frontal attack on civil society when responsible groups who work hard and who aren't paid a fortune to represent, for free, community groups, first nations, municipalities, and individuals across the country, are subjected to this kind of treatment.
That's an honest reaction. We don't have an interest in playing politics on this issue. We would really rather it went away.