The St. John’s Telegram – November 13, 2010
Letter-writing campaign seeks change in charitable status
By Brian Hodder

Throughout history, how individual societies have viewed the concept of homosexuality and same-sex relationships has varied tremendously. The ancient Greeks considered same-sex love between two men as the highest form of love and such relationships were common and socially accepted. On the other end of the spectrum, during Hitler’s reign of terror in Germany, thousands of gay men were imprisoned and sent to the death camps along with persecuted Jews. In today’s world, there remains a broad range of views toward homosexual relationships, from recent calls of imprisonment in Africa to full protection under the law here in Canada.

Despite the broad acceptance gays and lesbians enjoy here in Canadian society, there remain segments of our society that refuse to accept us as we are and strive to get us to “change” who we are, usually under the cloak of Christian ministry.

Whether such activities should receive the benefit of charitable status under our tax laws has recently been called into question. Early last month, a grassroots campaign by gay and lesbian activists in Canada began that is seeking to revoke the charitable status of Exodus Global Alliance, a Toronto-based international organization that claims “change is possible for the homosexual through the transforming power of Jesus Christ.”

This letter-writing campaign to Canada Revenue Agency was spurred by a decision by New Zealand’s Charities Commission to refuse to grant charitable status to Exodus Ministries Trust Board – the New Zealand branch of this organization – noting the group did not provide a charitable purpose. The commission said providing counselling that promoted a particular point of view – namely that homosexuality is morally wrong – will not necessarily provide “relief” to homosexuals and does not provide any benefit to society. As such, it did not meet the criteria outlined under New Zealand law and the commission thereby turned down the request for charitable status.

Here in Canada, our laws require a charity to provide a measurable benefit to the public as a whole or a significant section of it, wording that is very similar to the language used in New Zealand. Therefore, the same argument can be made regarding the tax status of this group in Canada and activists have started to draw attention to this fact.

It is interesting to note that despite the fact that this organization exists to “cure” homosexuals, it does not mention this goal in its annual returns to Canada Revenue Agency, and in fact, such reports never refer to sexual orientation at all. In these reports, the mission of the organization is described in 30 words: “Educating and training in dealing with abuse and family issues. Developing ministries to help families and individuals in pain. Teaching church groups, schools and youth. Helping and teaching at conferences.”

When asked about this, Bryan Kliewer, executive director of Exodus Global Alliance, said the word “homosexual” doesn’t appear in the description because there wasn’t enough space. You would think that if there was limited space available to describe your organization and what it does, the primary purpose of the organization should be the first thing you write down. That such information does not appear on their annual returns is misleading at best.

At the core of this argument is what public benefit this charity is supposedly providing.

Here in Canada, we have established that homosexuals are not inherently mentally ill or disordered, deserving of equal protection under the law, legally able to get married, form family units and go about their lives as other Canadians do. It has been legally recognized for decades by the entire medical establishment that homosexuality is not an illness, so what exactly is this group trying to cure?

In reality, they are taking something that is not a recognized disorder and is treating it as if it were one – hardly an activity that will benefit our society and surely not an activity the Canadian government should support through the granting of charitable status. In fact, most leading medical experts have ascertained that such “reparative therapies” as those promoted by Exodus Global Alliance are actually often harmful to the individuals subjected to them and can lead to even more traumatization and stigmatization of a group that, despite broad acceptance, often remains marginalized. As such, it could be argued that this group’s activities are acting contrary to the public good.

Whether this letter-writing campaign will have any effect has yet to be seen. Charitable status is a powerful tool in enabling an organization to raise funds, and if it is granted, Revenue Canada needs to ensure that groups granted this status are helping to serve the public good.

When Newfoundland Gays and Lesbians for Equality was first formed many years ago, we explored the possibility of applying for charitable status. We learned at the time that we could not qualify because part of our mandate was to lobby governments to change existing laws concerning the rights of gays and lesbians and such activities excluded us from this status.

Rather than try to hide such activities, we accepted that these were the rules and proceeded with our activities without charitable status. It only seems fair that Exodus Global Alliance be as open with Revenue Canada about the primary purpose of their organization. At any rate, perhaps it is time for a review of all organizations that receive this status to ensure that they are in fact promoting activities that meet the public good. If they are not, as seems to be the case here, their charitable status should be revoked. Hiding under the umbrella of being a “Christian” organization is not good enough.

Brian Hodder is a past-chairman of Newfoundland Gays and Lesbians for Equality.