Paul Tuns:
On Oct. 29, the Trudeau government introduced legislation that, if passed, would require pregnancy care centres to advertise they do not offer abortion or refer for abortions or lose their charitable tax status.
The Finance Department press release offered standard Liberal boilerplate, saying “Every woman should be free to make her own decisions about her own body” and “Every woman in Canada should have access to the health care she needs.”
The Finance Department said the new bill, which if passed would amend the Income Tax Act and Income Tax Regulations, will “require registered charities that provide services, advice, or information in respect of the prevention, preservation, or termination of pregnancy” to disclose where they “do not provide specific services, including abortions or birth control.” It effectively mandates that a charity that counsels pregnant women must publicize that it does not offer or refer for abortions.
The press release quoted the Abortion Rights Coalition (ARC) that there are 157 “anti-choice” pregnancy care centres that offer “reproductive health services to women, including pregnancy options counselling.” The government stated that they “may be spreading misinformation by presenting themselves as a neutral, full-service pregnancy support service organization, when they are in fact anti-choice organizations that push women away from accessing the reproductive care of their choice.” They allegedly conceal “the true nature of their services” and are supposedly “restricting the rights of vulnerable pregnant women” to choose abortion.
According to ARC, nearly 91 per cent of these pregnancy care centres operate as registered charities. To continue as charities, they will have to clearly state they do not provide or refer for abortions. The government press release stated: “Registered charities whose purpose or one of their main activities is to provide pregnancy and reproductive health supports and services, including pregnancy options counselling, would be required to explicitly disclose if they do not provide abortions, birth control, or referrals to these services. Organizations that do not clearly and prominently provide the required transparency risk losing charitable status.”
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said, “Today’s action to protect reproductive freedom is about stopping dishonest organizations from restricting a woman’s access to the reproductive care that is best for her. We are ensuring women have better access to the physical and emotional care they need and deserve when making the most personal of decisions.”
Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth Marci Ien said, “What this bill stands for is simple: for women to have all the facts, to be informed, and to make the choices that are right for her. It’s about holding organizations accountable, making sure they’re transparent in the reproductive health supports they provide—because everyone deserves care they can count on.”
Ien tabled the bill, which if passed would allow the Minister of Revenue to revoke the charitable tax status of a pregnancy care charity that does not disclose it does not promote abortion.
Dr. Laura Lewis, president of Pregnancy Care Canada (PCC), an affiliation of 80 local pregnancy care centres, asked in a statement that “Prime Minister Trudeau and Ministers Freeland and Ien to stop using false labels and mischaracterizations of the good work done daily across Canada at local pregnancy care centres and online.” Lewis said “Their words impede the access, freedom, and choice of the very women they claim to protect.”
Lewis said in that 2023 pregnancy care centres in Canada assisted 48,855 men and women, providing 7980 of them with material supplies such as diapers, formula, and clothing, supporting 1484 clients through parenting programs, and post-abortion support to 418 women. She said, “All of these services were voluntarily requested and provided free of charge.”
Campaign Life Coalition national president Jeff Gunnarson criticized the government. He said, “Stripping pro-life charities of their charitable status jeopardizes the very existence of these crucial organizations” and could “be forced to close, leaving the women and babies they serve without the support they need.”
Both PCC and CLC said that most pro-life pregnancy care centres already disclose they do not commit or refer for abortions.
Gunnarson said, “This proposed legislation puts them under unfair scrutiny and perpetuates misinformation from abortion-activist organizations, which falsely claim that they aren’t transparent.” He said the government is showing itself not to be “the party of ‘choice’ but the party of abortion as the only choice.”
CLC issued a letter to the Conservative caucus and leader Pierre Poilievre calling on them – and the other opposition parties – to oppose the bill. No pro-life MP came out against the bill after the Liberals announced they were tabling it.
The NDP condemned the Trudeau government for not going far enough. Jagmeet Singh said that the NDP wanted pro-life pregnancy care centres stripped of their charitable tax status even if they do disclose their non-involvement in abortion.
The pro-abortion Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights said in a statement that the legislation is a “positive step toward safeguarding reproductive rights” even as it called on the government to do more to promote abortion.
CLC director of communications Pete Baklinski said the Trudeau government “wants to take down Canada’s pro-life pregnancy resource centers.” He said the government “needs to fall over this heinous legislation.”
