Hi Pastor:

I am very excited as I feel God is moving to set us free, free to preach, free from oppression, free to be full citizens. Church history proves that revival follows the preaching of freedom.

As pastors in Canada we are second class citizens. Pastors are oppressed by the government and threatened with severe penalties if we participate in democracy. Sure we can vote but we cannot do anything else. Pastors must have equal rights in democracy, We should not be limited, restricted or intimidated.

The Canadian government scares pastors with CRA regulations that state if a pastor’s ministry “carries out partisan political activities, it can be subject to compliance action, including suspension of its tax-receipting privileges, or revocation of its charitable registration.”

A pastor’s democratic right is severely restricted. A pastor cannot:

  • Explicitly connect views to any candidate or political party.
  • Distribute literature or voter guides

or publicly endorse a candidate by:

  • Giving money
  • Allowing a candidate or political party to use a church equipment, facilities.
  • Volunteer time
  • Make public statements.
  • Suggest that people should vote for a particular candidate or party.
  • Attend a political fundraiser as a representative of a church.
  • Use a website to post or hyperlink to statements made by a third party.
  • Publish or otherwise disclose voting records.
  • Post signs.

The result is that we are afraid to fully express ourselves and rally our people when injustices occur. Our government passes law after law damaging the people of Canada and we are muzzled by their threats.

This oppression began with the Johnson Amendment in 1954 and Canada quickly followed suit. The result is that the church reduced from 65% of the population to 25% in America and 9% in Canada.

The newly elected government; the President, Senate and Congress, is planning to rescind the Johnston Amendment and free pastors to preach freedom from all forms of oppression, spiritual, financial and governmental. In Canada we must do the same and fight for freedom, equality and democracy.

—
Dr. Charles McVety
President
Canada Christian College and School of Graduate Theological Studies

History of the Johnson Amendment

Lyndon B. Johnson, a powerful texas politician, was running for reelection to the US senate in 1954. His opponent was Dudley Dowry who was not going to present much of a problem for Johnson until Frank Gannett and H. L. Hunt entered the picture.

Gannett created a non-profit organization called the Committee for Constitutional Government in 1935 and Hunt created a non-profit organization called Facts Forum in 1951. Both of the organizations were anti communist and both were supporting Dowry in his race against Johnson. Gannett and Hunt believed that Johnson was soft on communism and did not want to see him reelected.

These two non-profit organizations handed out thousands of pieces of literature in opposition to Johnson’s campaign. The Johnson Amendment was enacted to silence these organizations. He was not trying to address any constitutional issue related to separation of church and state and he did not offer the amendment because of anything that churches had done. The only reason they were banned is because they have the same tax-exempt status as Facts Forum and the Committee for Constitutional Government.

The Issue in Canada

Pastors are silenced in Canada as well thanks to the Income Tax Act which defines a charitable organization in part based on its dedication of resources to charitable activities. The Act states that an organization that devotes “substantially all” of its resources to such activities qualify if “(a) it devotes part of its resources to political activities, (b) those political activities are ancillary and incidental to its charitable activities, and (c) those political activities do not include the direct or indirect support of, or opposition to, any political party or candidate for public office.” (Section 149.1 (6.2)).

The Canada Revenue Agency, which determines eligibility for registered charity status, offers further clarification on this issue in a policy statement which defines prohibited political activities as follows: “A charity may not take part in an illegal activity or a partisan political activity. A partisan political activity is one that involves direct or indirect support of, or opposition to, any political party or candidate for public office.”