www.arpacanada.

ca
1-866-691-ARPA
info@arpacanada.ca
38 Scott Road, Chelsea Qubec J9B 1R5

August 12, 2u11

!"#$ &"'("$) *+ ,-" .*/)" *+ 0*''*1) 2,#13415 0*''4,,"" *1 641#17"

The Association foi Refoimeu Political Action (ARPA) Canaua is giateful that you have askeu
Canauians foi input as you piepaie foi the upcoming 2u12 buuget.
ARPA Canaua is a non-piofit anu non-paitisan oiganization that stiives to equip membeis of
Canaua's Refoimeu chuiches to be active paiticipants in public life. In the last foui yeais we
have giown to engage political action in ovei 1Su chuich congiegations. Eighteen local ARPA
gioups aie locateu in towns anu cities acioss the countiy, piomoting a similai goal thiough
giassioots anu volunteei effoits. In this submission we aim to iepiesent the faith-baseu
peispective that is helu to by these, anu many moie, Canauians.
Why shoulu a Chiistian oiganization be auuiessing Canaua's buuget. We iecognize that the
buuget is a moial uocument, a testimony to what oui nation values. All policy uecisions aie
baseu on a woiluview that gives uiiection anu guiuance. The buuget is no uiffeient. It is
impossible to make uecisions about wheie oui finances go without a bioauei unueistanuing
of what the iole of the state is, also in ielation to the othei institutions that function in society.
0ui iecommenuations flow fiom a belief that the state, family, business, science, anu the aits
aie uistinct spheies within society, accountable uiiectly to uou. The state is not soveieign
ovei all spheies anu shoulu not assume iesponsibility ovei all spheies.
89"7/,4:" 2/''#$;
In this iepoit, ARPA Canaua makes thiee iecommenuations. The fiist iecommenuation is to
ietiie the Canauian Buman Rights Commission anu Tiibunal. Reasons aie given foi the
necessity of such a move on public policy anu legal giounus. The fiscal benefit is an annual
savings foi Canauians of $26,944,uuu. The seconu iecommenuation focuses on special funuing
in aits anu cultuie. Although ARPA Canaua woulu like to uiaw attention to the funuing of
many types of special inteiest gioups, we aie limiteu to focusing on one type. We iecommenu
a cut to the unnecessaiy, iiiesponsible anu offensive funuing of ceitain "aits" piojects. As
pioposeu, the fiscal benefit is an annual savings foi Canauians of $18S,S28,uuu in 2u12. The
thiiu iecommenuation is to auopt a policy of piomoting civic iesponsibility in oiuei to
alleviate the financial buiuen on the feueial buuget. The goveinment has a long histoiy of
taking ovei ioles anu iesponsibilities that uo not fall within the iole anu juiisuiction of
goveinments. A policy of ietuining the iesponsibility of ceitain issues to the civic coie coulu
save billions of uollais.
<80=&&8>!?@A=> BC
0/, 6/13415 ,* ,-" 0#1#34#1 ./'#1 <45-,) 0*''4))4*1
The Canauian Buman Rights Commission (CBRC) anu Tiibunal (CBRT) have become a
national anu inteinational embaiiassment. Insteau of piotecting human iights they have
become a means to intimiuate anu encioach on the fieeuom of speech anu the fieeuom of
ieligion of Canauians. New iights aie cieateu anu uefenueu, such as a iight foi select
inuiviuuals to not be offenueu. These so-calleu iights aie enfoiceu at the expense of oui
funuamental fieeuoms, enshiineu in section 2 of the !"#$%&$ () *+,"%- #./ 0$&&/(1-2 which
aie iooteu in a long Common Law tiauition ieaching back to the 3#,.# !#$%# of 121S anu aie
founuational to a fiee uemociacy.
i

"As long as the commissions exist, even in skeletal foim, the temptation to iebuilu them as
agencies of social contiol will iemain anu will almost ceitainly be too much foi some
goveinment to iesist."
ii
0thei commissions, laws, anu coues alieauy exist to auuiess genuine
violations of human iights. These institutions incluue laboui ielations boaius, othei agencies,
boaius, commissions anu tiibunals, anu, of couise the Ciiminal Coue anu the ieal couit
system. The CBRC anu CBRT aie an unnecessaiy expense in touay's society; the mouein
Canauian human iights iegime has become a totalitaiian tool anu shoulu be uone away with.
iii

It shoulu suffice to mention the opinion of the leauing scholai anu acauemic in human iights
law, the giant in the civil libeities movement, Ni. Alan Boiovoy. Canaua's legenuaiy civil
libeitaiian was ueneial Counsel foi the Canauian Civil Libeities Association foi many yeais,
anu is an 0fficei of the 0iuei of Canaua. Boiovoy, who helpeu establish the commissions in
the 196us to stop uisciimination, has been paiticulaily vocal in uenouncing what he views as
misuse of the countiy's Buman Rights Commissions. "We nevei envisioneu that these laws
woulu be useu as an instiument of censoiship. This tienu. is a veiy backwaiu anu
uisquieting step," he saiu. "When you look at how bioau the law potentially can be in this aiea,
they coulu winu up censoiing all kinus of mateiial."
iv

0ne moie ieason that the CBRC anu the CBRT shoulu be uone away with is the fact that the
commissioneis anu investigatois simply uo not know the law oi, if they uo, they show a total
uisiegaiu foi the highest law in the lanu, the Constitution anu the !"#$%&$. 0ne of the leau
investigatois foi the CBRC has been infamously quoteu foi answeiing the following question
thus: when askeu by lawyei Beveiley Kulaszka, "What value uo you give fieeuom of speech
when you investigate one of these |hate speechj complaints." the investigatoi Bean Steacy
ieplieu, "Fieeuom of speech is an Ameiican concept, so I uon't give it any value. It's not my job
to give value to an Ameiican concept."
v
The ieality is that fieeuom of speech is enshiineu in
section 2 of the !"#$%&$, anu is vigoiously uefenueu by the couits.
What amount of money will uisbanuing the CBRC anu the CBRT save Canauians. The latest
numbeis fiom Public Accounts shows that the CBRC ieceives a buugeteu amount of
$22,629,uuu to investigate anu meuiate complaints anu conuuct human iights awaieness
campaigns. The CBRT ieceives $4,S1S,uuu. Removing both oiganizations coulu save the
Canauian people a total of $26,944,uuu in 2u12.
<80=&&8>!?@A=> BD
0/, 6/13415 ,* 2E"74#F ?$,) #13 0/F,/$" G$*/E)
The buuget gives a goou glimpse into what Canaua's goveinment sees as its iole. Token
spenuing is pioviueu to appease inteiest gioups, at the expense of the public goou. We look to
you to change this. The goveinment's iole uoes not incluue cieating oi sustaining a Canauian
cultuie - that is a nebulous ieality that iemains anu changes with the people.
Theie aie many examples in which the feueial goveinment pioviues funuing to oiganizations
anu agencies that have naiiow iueological agenuas that iun countei to a laige numbei of
Canauians oi whose goals shoulu be caiiieu out by the geneial population iathei than by oui
goveinment. 0ui paients anu teacheis have taught us that in oiuei to piopeily save
thousanus of uollais in oui peisonal buugets, we neeu to account foi the pennies. Foi oui
feueial goveinment, the same iule applies. Finance Ninistei Flaheity has been speaking of
ways to save $4 billion a yeai. It seems veiy cleai to us that theie is a huge amount of saving
to be founu in the Beiitage Ninistiy poitfolio especially.
uiants aie hanueu out time anu time again in amounts of thousanus anu millions of uollais to
funu piojects that most Canauians woulu finu offensive at best. This past yeai, one
paiticulaily offensive pioject was an album titleu "Boly Shit" with covei ait that ieplicates the
Bible. The innei notes aie titleu "a poo testament" anu has an image of }esus ascenuing to
heaven as a piece of feces. This is objectionable to most Canauians iegaiuless of one's
ieligious views, paiticulaily when we consiuei the Canauian taxpayei helpeu funu the pioject.
Telefilm ieceives $1uS,667,uuu of taxpayei's money to funu a wiue vaiiety of piojects.
vi
Nany
of the piojects that Telefilm funueu have nevei been heaiu of. A numbei of the piojects aie
highly contioveisial, offensive anu may even contain images of chilu poinogiaphy. In 2uu9, a
movie calleu "The Yeai of the !4*5678*9" was funueu to the tune of 1.2 million uollais. At
one point in the film the main chaiactei uses a vibiatoi to mastuibate in the piesence of
chiluien. Peifoiming a sexual act when in the piesence of chiluien anu iecoiuing that act may
fall unuei the uefinition Chilu Poinogiaphy unuei section 16S.1 of the Ciiminal Coue anu such
an act ceitainly offenus section 17S.(2) of the Coue. 0thei examples of funuing fiom Telefilm
aie movies such as "Young people F#%ing", "Suck" anu "Nastuibatois", anu a website calleu
"Bitching Lifestyle".
Telefilm not only funus objectionable piojects but also piojects that uo not neeu extia funus at
all. An example of this is a science fiction movie calleu "Splice". This movie was the top
giossing Canauian film in 2u1u. It giosseu $26.9 million woiluwiue. Bespite these piofits,
Telefilm useu tax uollais to awaiu the uiiectoi $4u,uuu foi being the top giossing film. This
oiganization neeus to have its buuget cut in half fiom $1uS,667,uuu to $Su,uuu,uuu in 2u12
anu fuithei ieuuceu by 2u% in the two subsequent yeais. This will foice the oiganization to
be piopeily selective in its funuing uecisions anu will help pievent the funuing of lewu anu
ciuue mateiial.
vii

The Canauian Council foi the Aits ieceives $18S,116,uuu anu the National Film Boaiu
ieceives $69,S4S,uuu a yeai. Both of these oiganizations shoulu have theii buugets cut in half
in 2u12 to $9u,uuu,uuu anu $SS,uuu,uuu anu fuithei ieuuceu by 2u% a yeai in the two
subsequent yeais.
The fiee maiket is the best aibitei of which music gioups oi woiks of ait shoulu succeeu: If no
one wants to puichase the ait oi listen to the music, then it is not woithy of public suppoit
eithei. The aits inuustiy shoulu be self-sustaining, just like any othei tiaue. ARPA Canaua, a
stiong uefenuei of the fieeuom of expiession, iequests this goveinment to immeuiately stop
the piactice of foicing taxpayeis to pay foi "ait" that they finu uistasteful anu offensive. This
amounts to cultuial coeicion.
The National Film Boaiu, Canauian Council foi the Aits anu Telefilm ieceive a total of
$SS8,S28,uuu. 0ui pioposeu cuts woulu save the Canauian taxpayei $18S,S28,uuu in 2u12
anu an auuitional saving of $SS,uuu,uuu in 2u1S anu $28,uuu,uuu in 2u14.
viii

<80=&&8>!?@A=> BH
I$*'*," 04:47 <")E*1)4(4F4,; 41 =$3"$ ,* <"3/7" ,-" !"(,
The state is entiusteu with public money anu has a iesponsibility to act as stewaius. The iule
of law applies equally to financial stewaiuship. Not even the state may steal. The state may
not take fiom piivate citizens what it uoes not have the authoiity to take. 0n the flip siue,
Canauians uo neeu to entiust the state with the funus necessaiy foi it to fulfill its iole.
Bebt has become so noimal that theie is little neeu foi the feueial goveinment to even
legitimize it anymoie. Yet this is a seiious moial pioblem. When we boiiow money not only
uo we enu up foifeiting oui iesponsibilities (by tiansfeiiing them to the state), we also incui a
huge public uebt, plus the inteiest buiuen, that oui chiluien anu gianuchiluien will have to
beai. In effect we aie stealing fiom futuie geneiations to pay foi what we want touay. When
piivate citizens auopt this appioach to peisonal finances it is iightfully seen as shameful.
Theie is no ieason why it shoulu be conuoneu when oui civil goveinments uo the same thing,
foi theii own political auvantage.
It is necessaiy foi this goveinment to not only pioject a balanceu buuget within foui yeais,
but also to commit to an aggiessive plan to pay uown the uebt within the following two
uecaues. Paying $u.14 of eveiy tax uollai to uebt inteiest alone is unacceptable.
ix
To imagine a
univeisal 14% tax ueciease in 2u yeais uue to the savings on the uebt payments coulu uo
wonueis foi the Canauian economy.
0ne step oui goveinment must take towaiu attaining this goal is to uefei to the institutions of
the civic coie. The family, chuiches, chaiitable oiganizations, economic entities, anu otheis
have an impoitant iole in caiing foi the uiffeient neeus within society. Inueeu, eveiy
inuiviuual Canauian is entiusteu with not only the iights that come fiom being a citizen, but
also the iesponsibilities necessaiy to make this countiy flouiish. Buman natuie is such that
we want to maximize oui iights anu piivileges anu ielinquish oui iesponsibilities. Nany aie
happy when the feueial goveinment ueciues to pioviue chilucaie, social assistance, welfaie,
anu many othei seivices that inuiviuual Canauians shoulu be piimaiily iesponsible foi.
Becieasing the iole of the goveinment in public life will not only leau to a ietuin of fiscal
integiity, it will also put moie iesponsibility on those who aie best suiteu foi it. Stuuies show
that the piivate sectoi anu chaiitable sectoi in paiticulai aie much moie efficient than
goveinment agencies. In oiuei to seiiously save money, oui officials shoulu uefei to anu
enable oui chaiitable institutions.
Cuiiently the Canauian tax stiuctuie is punitive towaius those families who ueteimine that
the paient is best suiteu to iaising the chiluien. A one-income family pays significantly moie
taxes than a two-income family with the same income anu numbei of chiluien. A iepoit by the
Institute of Naiiiage anu Family Canaua noteu that:
}oint filing anu income splitting woulu iesult in lowei taxes foi families geneially anu help to iaise
aftei-tax incomes among the lowest income biacket. Accoiuing to ieseaich fiom the Libiaiy of
Pailiament, S1 pei cent of two-paient families below $Su,uuu in annual income woulu benefit fiom
income splitting. The aveiage benefit woulu be $21S annually (Libiaiy of Pailiament, 2uu6). As
with the EITC's maiiiage bonus, the size of the benefit might be consiueieu of seconuaiy
impoitance. 0f gieatei significance is the fact that maiiieu couples aie being explicitly iecognizeu
by theii goveinment. This woulu once again senu an impoitant message to Canauian families about
the benefits of maiiiage. Anu maiiiage, we iepeat, is a pioven poveity fightei.
x

0f couise this is just one example. But it illustiates the bioauei piinciple of saving money by
ietuining iesponsibilities to inuiviuuals anu institutions that aie best suiteu, even if they may
piefei otheiwise.
0*17F/)4*1
Some might ieau these suggestions anu wiite them off as a "iight-wing Chiistian" peispective.
But consiuei caiefully what is being auvocateu. We aie not asking that Chiistian oiganizations
anu effoits be funueu. We aie not tiying to auvance the agenua of a naiiow segment of the
Canauian public. The ieality is that the cuiient buuget is biaseu anu iueological. The feueial
goveinment will continue to stiuggle with this as long as it is involveu in paits of public life
that aie outsiue of its basic iole. Naintain a stiong system of justice, keep oui infiastiuctuie
cuiient anu in goou iepaii, anu uo eveiything possible to keep taxes as low as possible. These
aie some examples of veiy simple piinciples that aie foi the people's goou. If inuiviuuals
believe stiongly about a paiticulai cause they shoulu have the fieeuom to put theii time anu
iesouices to auvance that cause. It shoulu not be oui tax uollais that suppoit them.
The cuts that we suggest in iecommenuations #1 anu #2 woulu save Canaua almost a quaitei
of a billion uollais in 2u12: $21u,272,uuu.uu to be exact. This numbei uoes not incluue the
potential billions of uollais that can be saveu shoulu the feueial buieauciats auopt a policy as
suggesteu in iecommenuation #S of abuicating theii contiol of so many aspects of Canauian
life anu piopeily ietuining that iesponsibility to the civic coie.
Thank you foi taking the time to consiuei these thoughts. We iecognize that you have a veiy
uifficult position anu we piay that the Loiu gives you wisuom anu couiage to make goou
uecisions.
Sinceiely,



Naik Penninga, B.A., N.A. Anui Schutten, Bons.B.A., LL.B.
Executive Biiectoi ueneial Legal Counsel & 0ntaiio Biiectoi
Association foi Refoimeu Political Action Association foi Refoimeu Political Action
(ARPA) Canaua (ARPA) Canaua




i
For more information on the history of our true and democratic rights and freedoms, see http://www.humanrightscommissions.ca
ii
Nigel Hanniford, FCPP Policy Series No. 45, July 2008. Available at http://www.fcpp.org/pdf/PS45_HRC_JN27_D2.pdf
iii
See also the recommendation of Richard Moon Report to the Canadian Human Rights Commission Concerning Section 13 of the
Canadian Human Rights Act and the Regulation of Hate Speech on the Internet Canadian Human Rights Commission,
October 2008.
iv
http://deborahgyapong.blogspot.com/2008/02/my-conversation-with-former-liberal.html
v
http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/columnists/story.html?id=6ba546ff-f56a-4780-852d-cc743bbd0994
vi
See Telefilms annual report: http://www.telefilm.gc.ca/rapport-annuel/2009-2010/views/en
vii
http://www.familyaction.org/node/560
viii
All numbers in this section are taken from Public Accounts of Canada 2010, Vol. II Details of Expenses and Revenues, Table 2.
ix
The IMF has shown that Canadas debt and financial situation is a whole lot bleaker than our politicians are letting on. See:
http://www.ottawasun.com/2011/08/05/canadas-debt-fix-the-roof-while-the-sun-is-out
x
Institute of Marriage and Family Canada, Family Poverty in Canada: Raising incomes and strengthening families Canadian
Family View: November 2007. Available at http://www.imfcanada.org/default.aspx?go=article&aid=1536&tid=8.