CRA avoids MP Lewis' Questions to the House
CRA avoids MP Lewis' Questions to the House
On Sept 17, 2024, Leslyn Lewis (MP, Haldimand-Norfolk) officially put Questions on the Order Paper in the House of Commons, seeking transparency from the CRA on their handling of the JNF Canada audit process. With regard to the CRA’s audit and subsequent revocation of the charitable status of the Jewish National Fund (JNF):
(a) since 2015, how many meetings with external stakeholders, either virtual or in-person, did the CRA have regarding the JNF’s charitable status;
(b) how many meetings did the CRA officials have, either virtual or in-person, with JNF officials since 2015;
(c) what are the details of the meetings in (a) and (b), including, for each, the (i) date, (ii) names and titles of the attendees, (iii) purpose of the meeting, (iv) agenda items, (v) summary of what occurred at the meeting, including anything that was agreed to; and
(d) what are the details of all meeting requests the CRA declined or did not respond to from the JNF since 2015, including, for each, the (i) date of the request, (ii) names and affiliations of those who made the request.
We thanked Ms. Lewis for holding the CRA accountable for how they treat charities during audits and compliance processes. The CRA was obligated to respond within 45 days.
The CRA responded on the last day of 45-day period, without providing an answer to any of the questions, claiming the information "cannot be provided without the consent of the organization". Yet, they did NOT ask JNF for consent, which we would have given. And they already made public over 350 documents related to our case... They are hiding behind confidentiality clauses as a way to avoid accountability to elected officials in the House of Commons.
MORE NEWS
NEWS | CRA
NEWS | CRA