Why can the so-called Humanists not address Kelowna city council on their demand for churches to be taxed?
Are they being silenced? Is it discrimination?? Have their voices been cancelled??? Where鈥檚 my computer, I must post in an outraged fashion on X about this right now!
To which I say, No, no, no, and Don鈥檛 you think you spend too much time on social media already?
A protest will be held outside Kelowna City Hall on Tuesday by members of Kelowna Atheists, Skeptics, Humanists Association and Advocacy Canada. They're听bothered that Kelowna, like every other municipality in B.C., routinely grants property tax exemptions to places of worship.听
This being the silly season in news, their intention to do so has generated some media coverage. Probably some microphones and cameras will be pointed at the likely handful of people who gather on City Hall鈥檚 doorsteps on Tuesday.听
So I thought I鈥檇 explain why you won鈥檛 read all about it in this newspaper. The short answer is, it鈥檚 not news. The longer answer is, if it was news, there would be no news.听
There are really two issues here. One is, why do cities grant such exemptions? And the second is, why can鈥檛 people appear whenever they want before council to protest such exemptions?
The Humanists may believe they are the first to challenge the policies on granting tax exemptions to churches, mosques, temples, gurdwaras, etc. Since Kelowna was incorporated in 1905, of course they鈥檙e not, and the city has a ready-made statement to explain the rationale. Similar exemptions are granted to a variety of non-profit groups, many of which are not spiritual in nature.听
鈥淭he City of Kelowna recognizes the significant value of volunteers, volunteer groups and agencies to the spiritual, educational, social, cultural, and physical well-being of the community. This is not lost revenue. The taxation burden is transferred to other non-exempt properties,鈥 the statement reads.听
This year, the city is waiving $422,600 in property taxes that would otherwise be paid by the owners of properties whose primary purpose is for religious assembly. That鈥檚 big you-and-me money, but peanuts compared against the city鈥檚 total tax haul of $204 million. Less than peanuts, actually: it鈥檚 two-tenths of one per cent.听
Still, you can obviously quarrel with the policy in and of itself. And the proper way to make your opposition known is through correspondence to councillors or, better yet, during election time. Run a slate of candidates whose only reason for running is their opposition to granting tax breaks to churches. But that鈥檚 so hard, never mind guaranteed to end in failure.听
It鈥檚 easier to send out a summertime press release, get some attention from media, then have a few people pose indignantly on City Hall鈥檚 doorstep. If the total number of such 鈥榩rotesters鈥 exceeds the average number of Sunday parishioners at my small Anglican Church (14), I鈥檇 be very surprised.听
For heaven鈥檚 sake, the media might just as well go to any random Kelowna church one Sunday and report faithfully on what鈥檚 being said. They might be surprised at how many clicks they get.听
For all their defence of humanity, the Humanists are cagily selective. They know just who to pick on. Their fulmination against tax breaks focuses on Christian churches, as they've apparently spent a lot of time scrolling through various local Christian churches' online presences to buttress their argument that such tax breaks aren't in the 'public interest', as defined by boilerplate city blather about equity.听
If they really had conviction and guts, the Humanists would take a look at what some other faiths have to say about LGBTQ+ issues. But they know there's absolutely no risk - being called intolerant, say, or hateful - in attacking Christians.听
Anyway, the Humanists have been denied the opportunity to address Kelowna city council on Tuesday because no individual or group has the right to do so outside of a formal public hearing where a specific decision is expected of city council.听
City council meetings aren鈥檛 soapboxes. They鈥檙e not places for randos to get up and rail about whatever topic floats their boat. Imagine if the crank on your street was able to attend every council meeting and go on about airplane听contrails, the UFOs he鈥檚 seen hovering over Rutland, Ogopogo's secret mistress, or how cell phones are re-arranging all our brain patterns.听
Sure, it would be entertaining! But that鈥檚 not the point.听
Council meetings are forums where the people we鈥檝e elected to represent us make (ideally) thoughtful and fair decisions on a multitude of issues that actually affect our life in ways big and small. If they don鈥檛 do that properly, or at least to our liking, we get rid of them at the next election.听
Next fall鈥檚 civic election will not be decided by councillor candidates鈥 position on tax exemptions for houses of worship. And thank God for that.听
Ron Seymour is a Kelowna Courier writer.听