Christian camps may face retroactive GST
Robert White
Special to ChristianWeek
ELMIRA, ON—Reliance on what Christian camps thought was a Tax Court precedent may now cost them retroactive and future GST.
The issue stems back to a 1998 Tax Court of Canada decision on Camp Kahquah, a Christian camp near Magnetawan, Ontario. Non-profit charitable
camps don’t have to charge GST for their programs unless they provide a “service involving supervision or instruction in any recreational or athletic activity.” The Tax Court decided the exception didn’t apply to Camp Kahquah and the camp didn’t have to collect or remit GST.
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) began an appeal and then withdrew it without explanation, says Teresa Douma, staff lawyer with the Canadian Council of Christian Charities (CCCC).
Fetal test recommendations spark ethical debate
Families and advocacy groups for the developmentally disabled are concerned that calls for increased fetal testing will lead to more abortions of Down syndrome babies.
The recommendation, to be published in the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada (SOGC) journal this month, suggests that all expectant
mothers should undergo screening for fetal abnormalities. Currently, only pregnant women over the age of 35 are routinely offered such tests.
Read more >
Conservation centre takes root in Manitoba
With environmental issues rising to the top of the political agenda, international Christian conservation group A Rocha is timely in opening their second Field Study Centre in Canada.
A guardian of salmon and bird habitats on B.C.’s Little Campbell River since 2003, A Rocha Canada’s newest project is located in southwestern Manitoba’s scenic Pembina Valley, home of the province’s premier hawk migration.
Read more >
available in our PRINT EDITION
Social justice sweeps Urbana 2006
Urbana 2006 was like never before. Although Urbana continued its historic focus on mission and evangelism, it also gave a higher profile than ever before to social justice and a particular emphasis on the AIDS crisis.
The missions conferences have been held every three years since 1946, calling more than 212,000 to global missions. This year, a record 22,556 students attended.
Full story in our print edition >
Islam lectures labeled “hate crime”
A mid-sized Baptist church has been accused of a hate crime after hosting a conference keynote speaker who said Islamic doctrine teaches the “ambushing, seizing and slaying of non-believers, especially Jews and Christians.”
Campbell Baptist Church held “An In-Depth Look at Islam”—planned as a four-week lecture series featuring guest speaker Zachariah Anani, a self-professed former Muslim terrorist turned evangelical Christian. His first talk entitled “The Deadly Threat of Islam,” was held on the evening of January 11.
Full story in our print edition >
Quebec crucifix triggers debate over secularization
André Boisclair, leader of the Parti Québécois, touched off a storm of controversy through comments made to the press on Thursday, January 19, supposedly deprecating the National Assembly’s crucifix.
While controversy centers on the small symbol hanging above the speaker’s throne, vivid discussion about secularization and “reasonable accommodation” have once again filled the province’s papers, news casts and talk shows.
Full story in our print edition >
|
