An effective opposition in action

Content of the article

Getting things done in federal politics is a bit like gardening.

Content of the article

You plant many seeds without knowing which ones will grow successfully. Success is the result of persistent effort, but also of chance and luck under changing conditions. So it always makes sense to plant seeds on many different projects, not knowing which ones will eventually meet favorable circumstances, and then cultivate those that have the best chance of succeeding in light of emerging realities.

Not every project I work on ends up on these pages, simply because of the sheer number of things going on at any given time. One such project, however, largely paid off this spring, and I appreciate this chance to share it with you.

Unless you’ve served on the board of a charity or are a tax lawyer, you’ve probably never heard of “guidance and control” regulations. But they are still very important. These regulations require charities to maintain direction and control of the projects they fund in partnership with other organizations. This means more complicated legal structures and unnecessary bureaucratic legal expenses to show this control. It also means that when charities operate in the developing world or with disadvantaged communities here at home, they should retain control of the projects instead of giving control to the community that is served.

I became aware of the Direction and Control Regulations when I became our party’s Shadow International Development Minister in September 2020. I have been advocating for their repeal ever since, through public advocacy and private conversations with colleagues.

Content of the article

When the government tabled the 2022 budget, I was very pleased to see a commitment to set direction and control. Although the initial draft of the Budget Implementation Act did not effectively implement this commitment, we were able to amend it at the Finance Committee to make the changes effective. Now, with the passage of this year’s budget, the direction and control requirements have finally been removed. This change is the result of advocacy by many people, but my advocacy has played a part in a change that will literally save charities in Canada millions of dollars every year.

On so many issues, trying to make progress from the opposition benches can feel like banging your head against the wall. But once in a while, a planted seed eventually grows. The function of an effective opposition is often to criticize the government, but usually as a means of pressuring the government to move in the desired direction. In this case, it worked. The money saved in unnecessary compliance costs will now be reinvested in all kinds of vital charitable projects. It’s a big win.

The irony of all this, however, is that I still voted against the budget that contained these measures. Even if the budget was not entirely bad, it must be voted as a global package. Overall, the budget pushed Canada in the wrong direction. So I voted against the budget, while applauding this particular change. Now that the budget has been enacted, better days are ahead for the Canadian charitable sector.

Garnett Genuis is the Member of Parliament for Sherwood Park-Fort Saskatchewan. He can be contacted by email at garnett.genuis@parl.gc.ca. Genuis was re-elected in September 2021.