Statement made on 03 March 2011 by Senator Céline Hervieux-Payette
Hon. Céline Hervieux-Payette:
Honourable senators, my question is for the Leader of the Government in the Senate.
In light of the February 25, 2011, broadcast of the TV program JE on the topic of the Church of Scientology on the French-language network TVA, it would appear that this not-for-profit organization has nothing to do with any church, charitable organization or religion. It is quite clearly a cult that is putting Canadians' physical and mental health in danger.
In the broadcast, hidden cameras showed how this organization extorts huge amounts of money from its victims. For instance, in the guise of some kind of therapy, one of the 40 organizations known as Narconon operates a detox centre using techniques from the Scientology movement, without the patients' knowledge. These techniques have nothing to do with any recognized medical treatment methods.
Consequently, I would like the Leader of the Government to assure us that her government will look into this matter in order to protect Canadians from this cult, which is exploiting and abusing our tax system and benefiting from its status as a non-profit corporation, thereby avoiding paying income tax that the Minister of Finance, Mr. Flaherty, really needs.
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