Mr. Speaker, I rise to present a petition on behalf of concerned Canadians with regard to the Liberal and NDP proposal in the finance committee's report, in recommendations 429 and 430, to revoke the charitable status of pro-life and religion-affiliated organizations in Canada.
Roughly 40% of charities in Canada would be affected by this measure. In fact, the petitioners note that Cardus, a very thoughtful Christian think tank, has quantified that the economic effect of the benefits that communities receive are over 10 times the cost to the Canadian government. However, we know that charities do not do this because of economics; they do it to help the most vulnerable in our communities.
The petitioners therefore call upon the government to reject recommendations 429 and 430 of the report from the finance committee and to protect, defend and uphold the right of charities to advance religion and help their communities.