Senate Committee Recommends Redesign of the Charitable Sector

The state’s financial support of religions is not being questioned by a Senate committee that tabled a comprehensive report on the charitable sector in Ottawa on Thursday.

After more than a year and a half of work, the Special Senate Committee on the Charitable Sector is calling for a profound and comprehensive modernization of the rules governing charity in this country, but believes that “the advancement of religion” must continue. be supported by the state.

Over 200 pages of the report, we learn that the measures governing the 86,000 registered charities (OBEs) and the 85,000 non-profit organizations in the country are complex and outdated.

“The sector has not been overhauled in [50 years],” Senator Terry M. Mercer, chair of the committee, told a news conference. It is a significant sector of the Canadian economy: it generates 7% of gross domestic product and employs more than 2 million people.

These organizations – which rely heavily on the work of volunteers and public donations – touch a variety of sectors, from sport to culture to services for citizens. They must be better supported by the state apparatus, the committee says.

Click here to read the full article in French on Le Devoir’s website.

Click here to review the Senate Charities Committee’s final report.