Canadian rights group files complaint against 21 charities over RSS links
text_fields
Canadian human rights organisation Just Peace Advocates (JPA) has filed a complaint with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), asking it to examine the charitable status of 21 registered Canadian charities over their links to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
The complaint was filed ahead of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s visit to Canada on Monday, August 31, amid opposition to his visits to the US and Canada.
JPA said more than 40 Canadian civil society and community organisations, along with thousands of individuals, had written to Canadian Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree seeking to prevent Bhagwat from entering Canada.
The charities named in the complaint include Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh Canada, Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation of Canada, Vishwa Hindu Parishad of Ontario and Sewa Canada International Aid Inc.
According to JPA, data from Sciences Po’s Center for International Research (CERI) shows approximately $46 million moving between RSS-affiliated organisations in Canada, with another $21.5 million sent from those organisations to RSS-linked groups abroad.
JPA has questioned whether the organisations meet Canada’s public benefit requirements for charitable status. It alleged that some have engaged in partisan activity, discriminatory behaviour and violence, citing independent reporting and Indian government reports.
The organisation identified 11 affiliated organisations connected to the 21 charities and classified them as four core Sangh organisations, three Sangh-embedded organisations and four Sangh allies.
JPA has asked the CRA to investigate whether the charities have violated the Income Tax Act by failing to devote resources to their own charitable activities, supporting non-qualified donees or submitting inaccurate T3010 returns.
It also asked the agency to examine whether the organisations comply with the public benefit test, arguing that organisations advancing an ideology that subordinates non-Hindu minorities should not qualify as charities.
JPA alleged that RSS-linked organisations in Canada have contributed to political and social divisions and questioned whether Bhagwat’s visit could involve seeking donations for the RSS.