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Church Property Tax Exemption, Freedom of Religion and Association in Peril In Ontario City

"secret report" leaked

By Thaddeus M. Baklinski

BRAMPTON, ONTARIO, January 4, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A "secret" report studying the way churches, mosques, temples, and other places of worship have traditionally been exempt from paying property taxes, commissioned by the Toronto, Ontario region City of Brampton, has come to light.

A leaked draft of the report was circulated among a number of Brampton churches who have formed the Brampton Faith Coalition, headed by pastor Kevin Begley of the Harvest Worship Centre, in order to fight the proposed legislation.

The list of recommendations in the report are chillingly reminiscent of communist era repression of not only established religious organizations but also of the right to gather in small groups for religious purposes.

The study proposes a regulation on "house churches", that is, gatherings in private homes, to limit attendance to no more than twenty people, including children, or to ban them from residential areas altogether.

Other recommendations include: taxing all "non-worship space" owned by religious organizations such as halls, nurseries, offices, kitchens, parking lots, etc (only the actual space where the  congregation gathers for worship would be tax exempt); redefining what constitutes a "place of worship", including removing of provisions expressly allowing church properties to be used for community services such as day care or study centers; placing severe restrictions on the establishment of new churches, including regulating what space these start-ups could rent, where, and for how long; establishing a ratio of one place of worship for every ten thousand residents; substantially increasing permit fees for renovation, new construction, and zoning and variance issues.

The City of Brampton has refused to produce a copy of the study for public examination, citing confidentiality rules, but Brampton City Council is scheduled to vote on the issue later this month.

Contact information for each Brampton City Councillor and Regional Councillor:
http://brampton.ca/mayorcouncil/home.tml#

To contact Mayor Susan Fennell:

The Mayor’s Office
City of Brampton
2 Wellington St. West
Brampton, ON L6Y 4R2
Phone (905) 874-2600
Fax (905) 874-2620


To contact Pastor Kevin Begley and the Brampton Faith Coalition:
Harvest Worship Centre
79 Bramsteele Road
Brampton, Ontario
L6W 3K6
CANADA
905-861-9244

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