Federal legislation would require some charities to disclose whether they provide abortion services

Posted on October 29, 2024 by Peggy

The federal government has introduced legislation that would require charities providing reproductive health services to state clearly whether they offer abortion or abortion referrals.

Organizations that fail to clearly tell their clients whether they provide these services could risk losing their charitable status.

Marci Ien, the minister for women and gender equality, said Tuesday the legislation is meant to combat the spread of “misinformation” by some charities.

“People are walking in the doors of pregnancy crisis centres expecting to receive information on all options that are available to them,” Ien told a press conference.

“They are met with organizations that are imposing their anti-choice convictions on them.”

The new rules would require charities that provide pregnancy counselling to tell clients if they don’t provide abortion services, referrals or information about abortion services, birth control or information regarding birth control.

Registered charities are granted certain benefits under the tax system, including the ability to issue tax-exempt donation receipts.

During the 2021 election campaign, the Liberals promised to strip charitable status from anti-abortion organizations that provide what they called “dishonest counselling.”

Liberals, NDP attempt to wedge Conservatives

The Liberals have been increasingly vocal on abortion issues in the past few weeks as they attempt to wedge the Conservatives — who have several anti-abortion members of Parliament in their caucus — on the issue at the centre of the U.S. presidential election campaign.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has said that if he’s elected prime minister, his government will not support any legislation to regulate abortion.

Poilievre was faced with questions about his party’s position on abortion in June, when Conservative MP Arnold Viersen said on a podcast that he wants protections for what he calls the “pre-born.”

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh announced last week that he will use his next opposition day to debate and vote on a motion calling for action to improve abortion access and “push back the creep of anti-choice bills, petitions and threats in Canada.”

This is expected to be the NDP’s only opposition day in this sitting of the House of Commons.

It is not clear when the Liberals’ legislation or the NDP motion will be debated or voted on, as the House is currently deadlocked in a debate over access to documents.