By Richard Stewart
Special to The B.C. Catholic

This Saturday, Nov. 19, communities across B.C. are holding local government elections. If history holds true, only a fraction of registered voters will cast ballots in their city council and school board elections. But in what ways do local elections affect your church?

There are many issues relevant to your church and mine and many questions that you might want to ask candidates – for council and school board – about the role of churches.

In Coquitlam, a church actually sued city hall and won. A faith community parking tax was issued under B.C.’s Community Charter because city property taxes don’t apply to churches. Exemptions have existed in B.C., in one form or another, since 1881, but back in 2004, Coquitlam city council adopted a new interpretation.

They grandfathered existing churches, but for new churches the tax exemption would apply only to the land directly under the building, the “footprint.” Any new churches built in the city would have to pay property tax on their parking lots, gardens, etc. By imposing a crippling tax bill, the policy effectively placed a moratorium on any new churches.

City council was basically saying, “We have enough churches in Coquitlam.” The church won when they sued, and they weren’t the first community that did so.

At the recent Tri-Cities Ministerial Mayors’ Prayer Breakfast, a well-known pastor recalled the very public position taken by a former mayor of Port Coquitlam in the ’80s – that his city had enough churches, and he wouldn’t approve any more.

But this certainly was a new and unexpected position as the policy was adopted without warning, behind closed doors.

The first church to be caught by the new policy wasn’t a new congregation at all. In Coquitlam for decades, the church had been forced to relocate when much of the parking lot of their existing building had been expropriated to widen a street. They applied to re-zone an adjacent property as replacement parking, but council denied the application.

So, with little choice, they bought another property, applied for development and building permits, and constructed their new building in 2004. However, before opening day, council changed the policy, and the congregation found themselves facing a $20,000 annual property tax bill for their parking lot.

If that seems unfair to readers, it certainly seemed so to the congregation; they sued the city. The court found that, while the city had the right, it had acted improperly. Council was ordered to re-hear the request for exemption. Up until then, the issue had been dealt with primarily behind closed doors. But now it was very public and there had just been an election.

One of the newly elected councilors (me) proposed a motion that council reverse the policy. Hundreds of people contacted council members, from almost every denomination, to support the motion. They argued passionately and eloquently that churches contribute immensely to community, and shouldn’t be taxed.

Council adopted the motion unanimously, and in public, to rescind the effective church moratorium.

It was people, and the congregations to which they belonged, that convinced the mayor and council of the value of faith communities.

There are other instances when the public’s voice is quieter.

To promote physical activity, Coquitlam gives out grants to buy playground equipment in local schools. Virtually every elementary student in Coquitlam currently plays on a playground funded out of this program.

Only two Coquitlam elementary schools have ever been rejected for new playground equipment – both are independent schools. Our Lady of Fatima Elementary (where I went to school 40 years ago) and Queen of All Saints Elementary (where my daughter attended). They were both rejected three years ago for the playground equipment funds.

Even though the City has given grants to private daycares, independent schools have been consistently rejected for the same kind of grants. Once again, these decisions were made behind closed doors, while faith communities might have held a strong opinion.

Luckily, this past year we were able to get around that barrier. Last month, city council funded its first “Christian” playground, at Our Lady of Fatima. And independent schools are now included in such programs as the school traffic safety initiatives.

But other barriers can be subtle and hidden. Do churches and their congregations have a role? Our faith communities can do a lot to influence public policy. The decisions described above could be made in any community in the province.

We need to make sure that candidates in local government elections are aware that faith communities are watching. It’s time we ask candidates for council – and the school board – about some of these kinds of issues. If we let them know that we’re watching, the decisions they make will reflect the public’s interest in the enormous role that churches, synagogues, mosques and temples play in creating and supporting a sense of community in our cities.

This Saturday, Nov. 19, is municipal election day across B.C. Please get out and vote.

Richard Stewart is a parishioner at All Saints Church and the Mayor of Coquitlam.