
Dear AFP Greater Vancouver Members,
Your Government Relations Committee is pleased to share with you an update about recent advocacy work on behalf of the membership base.
Provincial Advocacy:
In December, shortly after the creation of the 43rd Parliament of British Columbia, this committee along with our colleagues at AFP Vancouver Island and AFP Interior BC, sent congratulatory letters to representatives of each party. This included the Premier of British Columbia, the Leader of the Opposition, the Minister of Social Development and Poverty Reduction, and the new Parliamentary Secretary for Community Development and Non-profits.
Ms. Joan Phillip, the new Parliamentary Secretary for our sector and MLA of Vancouver-Strathcona, received a mandate from the Premier to continue to support priorities of the government. Her role will support the Minister of Social Development and Poverty Reduction and their priorities of poverty reduction and food security. We look forward to continuing to engage with our sector’s champion in Victoria.
Federal Advocacy:
At the tail end of last year, AFP Canada lobbied the Minister of Labour to find a speedy resolution to then postal strike. We also partnered with Imagine Canada to lobby the Ministers of Finance and the Office of National Revenue for an extension of the 2024 charitable donations in relief of the ongoing postal strike.
These efforts were ultimately successful, with the Minister of Labour announcing on December 13th, that he had sought intervention from the Canada Industrial Relations Board to order postal workers back to work. In this announcement, he highlighted the adverse impact that the postal strike was having on the charitable sector.
On December 31st, Government announced an extension of 2024 charitable donations to February 28, 2025. Which effectively allows donors to our respective organizations to claim any charitable donation made between January 1, 2025, to February 28, 2025 in their 2024 tax filings. This would ultimately come into effect, the next time Parliament was in session.
Prorogation:
Of course, everything changed on Monday January 6th, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s intention to resign and prorogue Parliament until March 24th, 2025. This announcement means all parliamentary activity comes to a halt; including the proposed changes to the Capital Gains Tax and the aforementioned extension.
However, our understanding is that the Canada Revenue Agency intends to operate based on the assumption that both changes have been approved. Please refer to the following AFP Canada post.
Canada Votes 2025:
We were already guaranteed a federal election on or before October 20, 2025, but with the Prime Minister’s resignation, we will see an election sooner rather than later.
In anticipation of an election, this committee in partnership with the AFP Vancouver Island and AFP Interior BC chapters will be hosting a webinar. Stay tuned for more information about this webinar and a federal election toolkit offered by AFP Canada.