Another Canadian charity says it is being audited for political activities.
Karios, a charity administered by the United Church of Canada, says the Canadian Revenue Agency has been carrying out the audit for almost a year.
Karios describes itself as a “faith-based ecumenical organization that pursues social and economic justice projects with local partners in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.”
The Canada Revenue Agency is currently investigating 52 charities. The agency has not publicly released the names of those being audited. Neither have many of the charities involved.
The charities who have revealed they are being audited include Amnesty International Canada, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, Canada Without Poverty, the David Suzuki Foundation and PEN Canada, which said this week that CRA auditors came its Toronto office on Monday and Tuesday.
All have had policy differences in the past with Stephen Harper’s Conservative government.
The governing Conservatives and the Canada Revenue Agency say the audits are not politically motivated.
Kairos has had a rocky relationship with the Harper government.
In 2009, it had federal funding dropped after 35 years.
Immigration Minister Jason Kenney initially told an Israeli audience that Kairos was cut off because the government didn’t like its views on Israel.
The minister responsible for the Canadian International Development Agency at the time, Bev Oda, insisted the decision was routine.
However, two years later, documents showed that a CIDA recommendation for new funding for Kairos was overruled by Ms. Oda, who inserted the hand-written word “NOT” on the recommendation, prompting charges of political interference.
After first denying the charge, Ms. Oda later apologised to the House of Commons.
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