Charities have a long and proud tradition of involvement in public policy which some have recently called into question.

In response, a number of organizations have darkened their websites today (June 4, 2012) to raise awareness. Working on the front lines, charities know the impact of policies on people and communities. They also give voice to those otherwise unheard.  The country and world would be poorer without their unique perspectives.

Additional Information and Resources:

BlackOutSpeakOut

On June 4, a number of prominent environmental charities are spearheading a BlackOutSpeakOut campaign. For more information on the campaign, please visit blackoutspeakout.ca.

Canada Revenue Agency

CRA’s Policy Statement on political activities by charities does an excellent job summarizing the rationale for charities to be involved in the policy process:

"Through their dedicated delivery of essential programs, many charities have acquired a wealth of knowledge about how government policies affect people's lives. Charities are well placed to study, assess, and comment on those government policies. Canadians benefit from the efforts of charities and the practical, innovative ways they use to resolve complex issues related to delivering social services. Beyond service delivery, their expertise is also a vital source of information for governments to help guide policy decisions. It is therefore essential that charities continue to offer their direct knowledge of social issues to public policy debates."

The policy provides definitions of what constitutes political activity and addresses a variety of questions that you may have regarding oversight of these activities.

Imagine Canada Resources

In promoting and protecting the sector’s right to engage in public policy, we have produced and made use of a number of resources.

We worked with a number of our partners, in particular the Canadian Environmental Grantmakers' Network, to produce a Q&A document on foreign funding and advocacy activity. We’d also like to point to Advocacy Rules for Charities, a piece produced by the Calgary Chamber of Voluntary Organizations.

In response to Minister Joe Oliver’s open letter referring to radicals and foreign interests, we wrote an op-ed outlining the important role of charities in the public policy process.

When the Senate began a debate at the instigation of Senator Nicole Eaton, we also published pieces in the Toronto Star and Huffington Post.

We responded to Andrew Coyne’s article questioning the role of charities in political activity; our letter (see “charity defense”) was published in a number of papers across the country.

An open letter was sent to Minister Kent responding to his comments about money laundering. This received widespread coverage in newspapers and social media.

Following discussions with members of the editorial board, the Globe and Mail published two editorials (May 6 and May 14) supporting the role of charities in public policy.