Mr. Speaker, Canada is proud to be a multicultural nation of peace and tolerance. Canadians value and respect diversity. Our charter of rights and freedoms is a model for the world which reflects Canada's commitment to human rights. The bill reflects core Canadian values and is fully consistent with our fundamental charter principle of fairness and due process under the law.
The bill focuses very narrowly on terrorism and on organizations that may improperly use charitable status in Canada to raise funds to support terrorism. The bill includes many safeguards, including provisions that allow organizations to regain charitable status by demonstrating that they no longer support terrorism and that their activities are fully consistent with charitable status.
The bill recognizes that Canadians have the right to engage in political activity. They have the right to make their views known in ways that are accepted in a free and democratic society, through advocacy, protest and dissent. They have a right to finance groups and support political causes.
Nothing in the bill interferes with those rights for any Canadian. What the bill does is set a clear standard for public policy. It draws a line between the exercise of rights and the abuse of charitable status to cover support for terrorism.
No civilized society can condone terrorism. By taking steps to prevent the abuse of charitable tax status Canada is supporting the international campaign to stop support for terrorism.
The bill would also help eliminate the suspicions and innuendo that produce tension based on racial, ethnic, religious or national differences. Allegations and suspicions would be dealt with based on facts. We want to be able to assure Canadians that an organization that has charitable status uses the funds it raises for charitable purposes.
Some have argued that legislation should focus on individuals rather than on organizations. They argue that organizations may be unaware of the true agenda of individuals who are using them to support terrorism. However it is organizations, not individuals, that are registered as charities. Charitable organizations have an obligation under the Income Tax Act to maintain direction and control over how their resources are used.
Others have suggested that the proposed process may be unfairly influenced by unreliable and politically motivated information from foreign governments that do not share Canada's commitment to human rights.
I have confidence in our system of parliamentary democracy and judicial independence. Canadians can be assured our laws would be administered fairly and, when required, interpreted in a fair and just manner by our courts. The process would be open and transparent so that all Canadians could judge for themselves.
In addition, every stage of the proposed process would be driven by hard facts. Risk factors used to identify suspicious cases would be based on facts documented in security and intelligence reports. When a concern is identified, Canadian security agencies would be asked to determine if there is a strong and credible case. Only then would the facts be presented to the Solicitor General of Canada and the Minister of National Revenue for separate, independent reviews.
The case would not proceed further unless each minister agreed there were reasonable grounds to believe the organization was providing support for terrorism. The ministerial review requirement would impose a significant level of political accountability before any case was presented to the courts or any public comments were made.
The next step would be to subject the facts to an independent and rigorous judicial review. Before that took place however the organization would be allowed to seek an order from the court directing that its identity be protected during the proceedings to avoid undue harm to its reputation.
A federal court judge would prepare a summary of the facts contained in national security documents. The summary would protect sensitive information but would enable the organization to be reasonably informed of the circumstances causing the government to consider refusing or revoking charitable status.
An open hearing would then be held at which the organization would have the opportunity to call witnesses and introduce evidence in its defence. Only after all the information had been considered would the court determine whether the government was entitled to refuse or revoke charitable status.
We shall not lose sight of the fact that the whole process would take place against a backdrop of other independent checks and balances designed to protect the rights and freedoms of all Canadians.
Canadian security services are subject to stringent controls and accountability mechanisms. For example, the Security Intelligence Review Committee, SIRC, and the Inspector General of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, CSIS, have complementary roles in overseeing CSIS operations. They ensure that Canada's security and intelligence service functions responsibly and that its actions are appropriate and in conformity with the law.
SIRC is a non-partisan committee of five privy councillors. It is independent of the government in its operations but reports to parliament. It has access to any information under the control of the service and is entitled to look at everything the service does. It has the power of independent inquiry and authority to investigate complaints about any act or thing done by CSIS even where the complainant is not personally affected by that action.
The inspector general serves as the solicitor general's internal auditor for CSIS providing another independent means of assurance that CSIS is complying with the law, ministerial direction and operational policy. Together these underlying accountability mechanisms offer Canadians unparalleled protection against discriminatory practices and abuses of power.
The legislation targets violent activities no Canadian could condone. It would provide a fair and just mechanism for dealing with persons or groups who would abuse the trust of Canadians. It is legislation that meets the needs of all Canadians and is legislation that we can all be proud of.
