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Christian Charity Closed After Pastor is Paid $13.7 Million

Christian News Commentary
The Canada Revenue Agency, the Canadian version of the IRS, has stripped the charitable status of a prominent Vancouver-area pastor’s Christian charities after auditors. Auditors uncovered serious abuse of tax law and alleged that directors used a charitable organization “as a vehicle for their own private benefit.” Grace Christian Chapel and Faith & Action Mission Society announced they will appeal the decision. According to tax filings, the charity provides housing for the needy and preaches the Gospels. The organization has a five-member board of directors and is led by Rev. Stephen Sai-Fung Lee. Several years ago, he made news for selling a retirement home in Chinatown, leaving 70 seniors scrambling to find new accommodation. The B.C. government paid one of Lee’s companies $13.7 million to prevent any evictions.The entire sum of the proceeds went to Faith & Action, and the charity’s 2021 return filed with the CRA reports a profit of $13.7 million from the sale of assets. Lee has a history of real estate dealings. He has sold tens of millions of dollars in properties through his network of companies and societies. Lee feels that he has been unfairly vilified. He said his business dealings were “entirely beneficial to society.”

In addition to his position as the head of multiple charities, Lee has also been listed as a director of several B.C. companies, one of which still owns a seniors home in Richmond, assessed at $9.5 million. One employee referred to Lee as “the boss.” The CRA published a list of allegations that allege serious and “repeat non-compliance” with Canadian law.

All of his charities list their address as a six-bedroom house owned by Lee. The Faith & Action Mission Society was incorporated in 1995 and describes itself as a seniors care home charity. A decade ago, the charity agreed with the CRA  where they agreed to make significant changes to ensure it could remain a registered charity. However, the CRA says Faith & Action failed to implement any of those corrective actions, devote resources to its charitable activities, or maintain adequate books and records.

The CRA says “Given the organization’s lack of response to our Jan. 4, 2023 letter, along with its failure to address the non-compliance addressed in our previous audit, it is our view that the organization has exhibited an unwillingness to become compliant with the requirements for its continued registration as a registered charity.” They also say that “In this regard, the audit found that the organization and its directors used the charity as a vehicle for their own private benefit and to offset expenses related to their for-profit companies.”

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Mark Blumberg, a Toronto lawyer who specializes in charity law, explains that CRA only seeks to revoke charities in cases where it has found “serious non-compliance that unfortunately cannot be rectified by lesser actions such as a penalty, or suspension, or what they usually start off with, which is education.” He also reported that “With a lot of non-compliance, unless CRA actually looks at it carefully in an audit, they won’t be able to see the non-compliance.” 

The CRA has only revoked the license of 20 charities in the last year and tries to maintain a light touch. However, they say their mission is an important priority because, through tax benefits, “the charitable sector is supported by all Canadian taxpayers.” If the charity’s appeal is unsuccessful, they can appeal to the courts. It is important to note that CRA’s allegations are not always upheld.