It was very interesting to read a report from the Sprott School of Business dealing with Hockey Canada and transparency entitled Hockey Canada – Financial Information: Issues about transparency and responsiveness. The report is definitely worth reading. It was written by…
We just launched a new course titled Objects/Purposes for Canadian Charities and Changes to Your Objects This course will discuss the importance of objects for a registered charity and will be particularly relevant in three circumstances: 1. When you are a…
We just launched a new course titled Professional Advisors and Philanthropy: Helping Clients Give Effectively to Good Causes. Professional advisors can play a key role with clients in helping them understand options relating to philanthropy. Whether it is lawyers, accountants,…
Here is the Blumbergs’ Pre-Budget Submission for the 2023 Canadian Federal Budget. For those who have been following our law firm’s submissions over the last 10 years, they have focussed on transparency and accountability in the non-profit and charity sector.…
We just launched an online copy of the Blumbergs’ Canadian Charity Law Institute 2022 (Recorded October 3, 2022); Every year, Blumbergs has its Blumbergs’ Canadian Charity Law Institute. This year, for the third time, we did a “mini-institute” – very…
Here is a CRA presentation entitled Charities Directorate, LPRAB Complex Audit Project Action Plan. The presentation discusses the Charities Directorate and audits of complex transactions involving charities.
This CRA Presentation on Registered Charities Compliance discusses CRA’s focus on abusive tax shelters and other inappropriate uses of registered charities and how CRA is going to focus on inappropriate use of foundations while working with other parts of CRA…
Here is a letter from Francois Boileau, Taxpayers’ Ombudsperson, at the Office of the Taxpayers’ Ombudsperson, on the Systemic Examination into concerns expressed by certain Muslim-led charities around audits by the Charities Directorate and more specifically, the Research and Analysis…
I recently received a copy of an interesting document from CRA dealing with registered charity audit stats that was released as a result of an access to information request. In this document, the CRA identifies the audit outcomes. It is…
CRA has put out a reminder that charities with a March 31 year-end need to file their T3010 by the end of September. Many charities that receive government funds have a March 31 year-end. It is important the T3010 is…
In our article last year, we discussed Canadian charities giving to Indigenous Charities and Qualified Donees – 2018. Now Sharon Redsky, Wanda Brascoupe, Mark Blumberg and Jessie Lang have reviewed the T3010 Registered Charity Information Return database for 2019 in…
On August 9th, 2022, the Department of Finance Canada announced that it has published draft legislation (and explanatory notes) to implement Budget 2022 tax measures and amendments for comment. Among the proposed amendments to the Income Tax Act are changes…
We just launched a new course titled Being a Director of a Canadian Non-Profit or Registered Charity; the rewards, pitfalls, and obligations of trying to help your community by being a director of an NPO or charity. Here is a…
We posted on July 12, 2022, the financial statements of many Registered Canadian Amateur Athletic Associations or RCAAAs that were obtained through access to information. Unfortunately, CRA does not post the financial statements of charities or RCAAAs on their website.…
I have been getting some client queries about the disbursement quota and whether it will be passed. Here is my understanding of the current situation: Changes to the disbursement quota were announced/proposed in the April 7, 2022, Federal Budget. These…
The New York Times recently published an article “76 Fake Charities Shared a Mailbox. The I.R.S. Approved Them All.” It is an important article in that it illustrates some of the tremendous problems in the US charity system. It is…
We are advocates for transparency but privacy is also an important value. Does the public deserve to know the home address of each of your board members? We think probably not. When being asked to list an address for service…
In the article, AFN chief says Canadian bishops collecting donations from papal visit is ‘inappropriate’, the AFN alleges that the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops is fundraising around the Pope’s visit to Canada and there are solicitations of people wanting…
Trudeau is noticing abuse at Hockey Canada all of sudden and he wants to see change. Trudeau said, “We need to see Hockey Canada demonstrating a level of transparency, accountability (and) understanding of the situation they’re faced with, … There…
The Charities Directorate of CRA recently released an Access to Information document which discusses audits of registered charities. Here is our article CRA audit statistics released through freedom of information in 2022.
I found this document entitled NPO Sector Review that had been obtained through access to information. It is from 2015 and deals with CRA‘s review of the NPO sector which includes both nonprofit organizations and registered charities. The document provides…
Guardian Capital recently published another edition of its Amplify newsletter with an article from Blumbergs on ‘Top Fallacies about Canadian Private Foundations in Canada in 2022‘.
The Cullen Commission of Inquiry into Money Laundering in British Columbia released its final report. Although the report focuses on BC, money laundering is an international problem that affects those in all of Canada. The lengthy report will be of…
On June 8, 2022, the House of Commons considered a private members bill namely C-240, An Act to amend the Income Tax Act (donations involving private corporation shares or real estate). The vote was for second reading and having the…