In appeal to Muslims, Freeland pledges to scrap controversial CRA division

Hard to justify given the recent foreign interference enquiry. Disbanding the RAD could impede efforts to track other groups. Irresponsible to do so pending the results of the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency (NSIRA) investigation:

Should she win the current federal Liberal leadership contest, Chrystia Freeland is pledging to scrap a controversial division of the Canada Revenue Agency that Muslim charities and civil liberties advocates have long accused of discriminatory auditing practices, CBC News has learned.

Her campaign has yet to make an official announcement, but Thursday morning she signed and sent a letter about her plan to the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM), one of Canada’s larger Muslim advocacy groups, about her plan to get rid of the Research and Analysis Division.

The RAD has been criticized by Muslim groups for unfairly targeting their work as it looks for sources of terrorism financing in the country. An intelligence review body, the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency (NSIRA), undertook a review of its activities in 2023, a probe that has yet to be completed.

In the letter, Freeland writes: “No charity serving Canadians in good faith should operate under a cloud of unwarranted suspicion. There is well-documented evidence from civil society organizations and independent experts suggesting that the Review and Analysis Division has a bias against racialized charities.”

“This is why, if I become Prime Minister, I will dismantle the Review and Analysis Division of the CRA,” she adds.

She is also pledging to establish an independent CRA oversight body “to ensure that audit and compliance processes are conducted fairly.”

And she said she would implement both these measures before the next federal election. …

Source: In appeal to Muslims, Freeland pledges to scrap controversial CRA division