How Charles McVety moves money at Bene Diction Blogs On

How Charles McVety moves money

McVety is involved in a number of right-wing Christian organizations including anti-abortion and anti-gay movements. He is also president of Canada Christian College in Toronto (a Dr. Jennifer McVety is the registrar). Charles wife - BDThis college produces Mr. McVety’s T.V. show, Word.ca, billed as a Christian news source and viewable on Miracle Channel. He also has ties to pro-life and pro-Israel organizations.

Canadian Christian College rents offices to several US religious right groups. Shuffl follows the McVety money trail and it’s quite convoluted. All roads lead back to the college through various front groups, some fronts are registered with Revenue Canada, some are not.

I checked Canada Revenue Agency’s list of charities and found the College. The Canada Christian College & School of Graduate Theological Studies is listed with the registration number of 869541540RR0001.

See my post on Bill C-10 and an article that quotes respected Canadian evangelical ethicist and professor Dr. John Stackhouse.

So far so good. Each charity has their tax forms online and there is also a questionnaire for each about their activities.

He might be doing everything perfectly legally and keeping his work at the college separate from his work with the Canada Family Action Coalition in whose name he makes his boast about denying the non-family film industry tax credit. The CFAC would like your money too, but on their site they say this about donations.

The Canadian Family Action Coalition which appeared before the Senate committee regarding C-10 has one registered lobbyist and it isn’t McVety, it was Brian Rushfeldt. That information came out in the committee.

(NOTE: Due to CFAC’s political actions to support family, religious freedom and democracy, Revenue Canada will not allow us to issue charitable tax receipts.)

No problem there. But consider what happens when you decide to give his Canada Christian College. If you go to the website Word.ca, and then go to the “donate” page you are provided with the address of the college and the statement about tax-deductibility. Oddly, however, there is NO form here to fill out to actually make a donation to Word.ca OR to the college.
You get an advert that claims a “free gift” for donation of $25.00 or more

You get a book from another socially conservative religious right Canadian group - Equipping Christians for the Christian Square. Tristan Emmanuel, who has objected to what I have posted writes for World Net Daily .

Press the button at McVety’s Word.ca TV show shown on The Miracle Network and it leads to:
You get to the donations page for the “Institute for Canadian Values” and it that seeks new members (annual fee to join, $35.00) and will accept donations.

The Institute for Canadian Values is not a registered charity and is as political as The Canadian Family Coalition. Of course they are all housed in Canadian Christian Canadian Christian College or the land address points back to them.

Then there is Canadians United for Israel (head honcho Charles McVety) a Canadian offshoot of his US buddy John Hagees Christians United for Israel. Check out Max Blumethals video foray into the Hagee CUFI Washington conference, it is entering an alternate universe. See my post on the 6 million Canadians United for Israel claim they raised.

It gets even more interesting. Also at 50 Gervais Drive is: Canadians United For Israel(Chair, Charles McVety) but their Donations button takes you to a listing for the Institute for Canadian Values! This is not the same page as the ICV donations page to which word.ca directs the potential donor. This page puts 50 Gervais Dr. in Don Mills (a part of Toronto). An email address for a certain person named Helena on the @canadachristiancollege.com server is provided.

And a final economic rabbit trail.

There is NO WAY I can find on that donations page to indicate whether one wants the money to go to the college, Word.ca, or ICV (the other ICV donation page on the pro-Israel site, does indicate that the money is for the ” Israel You Are Not Alone Campaign”.

But here is another interesting issue. If our donor gives through the the main ICV site hoping to support the work of that politically minded organization, how would McVety’s staff know NOT to send her a tax receipt that would go for a donation to the college? Would a receipt be sent anyway?

The optics here, Mr. McVety, are not good.

Shuffl has done an excellent job of following the money and asking reasonable questions about tax law and Canadian Christian College.
Bill Kinnon at achievable ends has been following Charles McVety’s academic claims, and I’m giving him a shout out to post what he has while McVety is still in the media spotlight after his senate appearing fiasco.

McVety has tangled with political candidates in the past and has stated he will be helping to run believers of like mind as candidates in the next election. (so he says) His cyber-squatting is well known.

Published 7 months, 1 week ago

7 Responses to “How Charles McVety moves money”

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1 Mike on Apr 25th, 2008 at 8:28 am

Wow, Bene D, great round up. This doesn’t seem very ethical, in my opinion. Is it even illegal?

McVety seems be more about business and money than religion.
2 Bene D on Apr 26th, 2008 at 8:39 am

It’s facinating and needs someone who knows how to analyse tax returns.

I see the Institute for Canadian Values advertises Dinah D’Souza’s book, The Enemy at Home. Makes sense given the ties to John Haggee.

I’m curious to know if any more Canadian Values Conferences were held at the college. I knew they’d had Ralph Reed up, I didn’t know about Senator Cools. I’d heard Joseph Farah of WND was at a fundraiser.

Dr. Jim did an outstanding job on this, I can’t take credit.
There are a lot of unanswered questions.

I don’t think he’s ethical, can’t address the legal.
McVety means business.:^)
3 Justice Seeker on Apr 30th, 2008 at 9:41 am

Bene,
While on the trail I would suggest you investigate Rondo Thomas-the mastermind behind all the money shuffling that goes on behind Canada Christian College.
Former teachers, students and donors are appalled at the way he has turned CCC into a “money grab”!Rondo has become a rich landlord who collects huge fees from renting out the rooms in the college.(the college does not pay property tax because it is deemed a religious organization).What happens to all the profits?
Rondo also collects “big bucks” from a ministerial organization (college related) that accredits religious workers who are able to use their creditials for tax allowances. What happens to these profits?
Mr. Thomas is an unscrupulous con man who uses a list of bogus degrees-a wolf in sheeps clothing! His “cult like” theology does not represent the Evangelical Christian community!
Insiders have numerous questions and concerns regarding Rondo Thomas’ dictorship and closed books but are afraid to speakup for fear of retaliation.It is a mystery to many why he has not been caught for his many dishonest and disturbing actions!
4 Bene D on Apr 30th, 2008 at 9:38 pm

Bill Kinnon of achievable is sitting on info about some of the fake academics, it’s a question of when he’ll get around to posting it.

If insiders don’t speak up, no one is going to know.
I can appreciate the fear of being found out, especially if the college is the centre of someone’s world; emotions go deeper because of the emotional trust and spiritual ties.

I doubt media would be interested, there are certainly competent and trustyworthy bloggers that can collect, verify and disseminate information safely and respectfully.

Ideally a website with a couple of good researcher/bloggers like The Miracle Channel Review would be useful, where information is in one place.

The rent declared for the college on the 2006 tax return was $ 682,577.
Sales of goods and services over a million dollars, donations from others 121,000, and 171 thousand under ‘other.’

5 directors of the college including Rondo Thomas.
33 employees listed in 2006.

I’m sorry to hear Christians are too afraid to speak, you are raising valid concerns, and given the political involvement of McVety and some of his friends, concerns that affect all of us.
5 David Toronto on Jun 26th, 2008 at 10:21 am

From the April 25 contribution:

McVety seems be more about business and money than religion.

—————–

I hasten to add that most of the broadcasts are more about money
than ministry. Just try to find a broadcast that doesn’t have a promotion or offer. They’re rather rare.

So where’s real ministry gone to?
6 Bene D on Jun 26th, 2008 at 10:44 am

Having worked briefly in media ministry - it is about money.

I’m not saying some employees aren’t sincere, but other than referrals to local help, it’s incredibly limited and it’s a business.

It attracts the most unhinged, needy and vulnerable by it’s nature.

I think we kid ourselves that it’s anything other than a platform of exposure, power, showmanship and money.