Could the Canadian Association for Equality lose its charity status because of dubious claims in its application?

The last time we checked in with Canadian MRA group CAFE (Canadian Association for Equality), the group’s planned “Equality Day” music fest had just imploded after participants and sponsors of the event found out about the group’s Men’s Rights agenda and fled, saying they’d been misled about the group’s aims.

Now it turns out that the group’s application for charitable status may have also contained some, well, let’s just call it misleading information. In March, CAFE was granted charitable status, which came as a bit of a shock to a lot of people, myself included, given the group’s seemingly symbiotic relationship with the distinctly uncharitable Men’s Rights hate site A Voice for Men.

But will they be able to retain this charitable status? The alternative weekly Now Toronto is reporting that the group’s application for charitable status contains some pretty dubious claims. In its application, CAFE listed several feminist groups and a federal agency

as potential participants in its “regular panel discussion series” on women’s and men’s issues. … There’s just one problem: none of the groups listed has ever been involved with CAFE.

Needless to say, none of these organizations were happy to find out that CAFE had used their name without permission:

The executive directors of Egale and LEAF said they had no knowledge of ever being approached by the organization, and said they would not work with CAFE if they were asked. Before NOW contacted them, neither organization had any knowledge that CAFE had listed them on its application.

A spokesperson for Status of Women Canada, the federal agency, told NOW in an email that none of its representatives had ever been involved in a CAFE event.