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The inquiry’s mandate is not without its flaws, but when it reports next year the results could shake a few ramparts in the vast operating arena of Canadian charities. Charged with probing the funding of anti-oil groups, the inquiry has the potential to open a national debate over the tax-free funding of Canada’s environmental organizations. It might also trigger interest in opening the doors into the strange multibillion-dollar world of Canadian charities, through which tax-free money is pipelined in and out of government with little or no accountability.

The Globe editorial dismisses the whole issue of foreign funding as something of a figment of the imagination of Vancouver researcher Vivian Krause. A frequent contributor to FP Comment over the years, Krause maintains a lively Twitter feed and an information-packed blog. Krause has documented that hundreds of millions of dollars have been flowing out of U.S. foundations and then have been circulated into Canada to specifically target Alberta’s oilsands.

Krause is also not alone in assembling open-source data from Canada Revenue Agency’s charities directorate site. Rob Scagel, who runs a Vancouver consulting firm, reports that it is a matter of public record that Canadian enviro groups “are in receipt of foreign donations, have made financial political contributions and have engaged in political activities.”

It’s all legal, but is it right?

According to the Globe, Krause and Alberta Premier Jason Kenney are helping to use “the heavy hand of government power” to suppress free speech. “The anti-carbon views of Canadian environmentalists are, lest anyone need reminding, constitutionally protected freedom of expression.”