Legal Affairs Update

June 2026

Picture of Supreme Court of Canada sign and building

Thank you!

June is one my favourite months; sunshine, flowers, warmth, and summer waiting just around the corner. It also brings another one of my favourite things, which is sharing highlights of Canadian Centre for Christian Charities (CCCC) legal work and thanking you for your support. This work simply could not happen without your prayer, encouragement and financial generosity.

Court Interventions

Court interventions have kept us very busy in recent months. We have four active interventions at various stages, each of which is summarized below.

Conscientious Objection to Euthanasia (British Columbia)

A euthanasia advocacy group challenged the right of faith-based healthcare organizations to decline participation in euthanasia. CCCC intervened to protect collective conscience, ensuring charities can continue serving in alignment with their faith-based purposes. In April, we presented our oral arguments before the Chief Justice, focusing on how organizations can express conscientious convictions, and the potential impact of the decision on principles of charity law such as fiduciary duties. We will now wait for the decision to be released and invite you to pray, as it could profoundly reshape faith-based healthcare in Canada.

Freedom to Worship in Private Facilities (Quebec)

A church in Quebec was fined by municipal enforcement for holding a weeknight worship service. The municipality argued that the worship service violated bylaws because it was not authorized by the church’s occupancy permit. The mayor suggested to media that the event was a “show” that would not be tolerated because it goes against values of “inclusion, solidarity, and respect.” The evening included worship, a teaching time, and the Lord’s Supper. CCCC is intervening with the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC) and Réseau Évangélique du Québec (REQ) to ensure occupancy permits for places of worship are not interpreted to exclude musical events, to preserve an appropriately robust definition of “worship” for the purposes of occupancy permits, and to help the court understand the scope of musical worship in Protestant traditions. This case is in early procedural stages.

Limit Government Oversight of Spiritual Matters (Supreme Court of Canada)

Elders in two British Columbia congregations have been ordered to disclose confidential, spiritual notes to the BC Information and Privacy Commissioner for a line-by-line review. The congregations have appealed the order to the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC). CCCC has been granted leave to jointly intervene with the EFC. Prior SCC decisions, such as Wall and Aga (in which CCCC also intervened) are clear that courts are not the “arbiters of religious dogma,” and that religious groups are free to determine their own membership and rules. This case risks inserting a government actor into the heart of those determinations. Our intervention will therefore focus on preserving an appropriate scope of privacy for religious records and to ensure government actors do not involve themselves in religious decision-making.

Equal Access to Public Facilities (Quebec)

The Quebec government cancelled a religious group’s event at a government-owned venue because the leader’s past pro-life statements were incompatible with Quebec’s “resolutely pro-choice” views – even though the event was not related to abortion. CCCC joined with the EFC and REQ to intervene. We are defending collective religious freedom and argue that public spaces must remain open to all voices—including religious ones. The hearing took place in February 2026, and we are awaiting the court’s decision.

Bill C-9

We have also been very active regarding Bill C-9, the Combatting Hate Act. Bill C-9 proposes to add four new hate crime offences to the Criminal Code, to define “hatred”, and to remove the good faith religious defence. In response, CCCC has made submissions to the House Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights, written letters to the Minister of Justice, and prepared submissions to the Standing Senate Committee on Human Rights. We’ve also worked hard to keep you updated on every step of the legislative process in our Bill C-9 blog series.

Other Sector Engagement

At CCCC we’re also committed to ongoing participation in a wide range of forums to maintain a faith-filled and biblically informed presence on issues relevant to the charitable sector. For example, we:

Filed pre-budget submissions to the federal government;
Shared about the unique considerations for boards and members in faith-based charities at an Ontario Bar Association continuing professional development program;
Highlighted the issue of medical assistance in dying as a guest on 100 Huntley Street in March 2026 and January 2026;
Participated in several consultations with the Canada Revenue Agency as a Technical Issues Working Group participant.

Looking Ahead

We are keeping a close eye on the federal government’s pledge to modernize the framework for the charitable sector, included in its Spring Economic Update and have written to the Charities Directorate to learn more about the changes, and to ensure that religious charities like CCCC have a seat at the consultation table.

With every file, submission, and intervention, we are committed to serving Christian ministries across Canada with wisdom, integrity, and conviction. Thank you for your ongoing support as we advocate for the freedoms and legal principles that enable charities like yours to carry out its work with faithfulness and confidence.

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