A few years back the Australian government set up the Australian Charities and Not-For-Profit Commission (ACNC). Then a new government came into power and decided that having the ACNC was just red tape and that it should be abolished. Thankfully…
The Globe and Mail had an article by Konrad Yakabuski questioning the degree of transparency about sources of funding with Canadian registered charities that are “think tanks” Here is the Globe and Mail article “Think tanks need to show us the money“.…
Here is an updated version of the Canadian Charity Legal Checklist. For those who are interested in reviewing legal compliance for their registered charity they may find the checklist helpful.
Here is an announcement from Minister Paradis on DFATD launching a Civil Society Partnership Policy and an International Development Advisory Council. It would be an understatement to say that Mr. Paradis tone is different than his predecessors. Here is the release…
CRA recently released a letter discussing various scenarios where an NPO will lose its exemption under par. 149(1)(l) during its wind-up operations. Here is a copy of the full CRA letter.
CRA recently released a letter which discusses whether a Community Contribution Company (“C3”) incorporated in the province of British Columbia that elects not to distribute any of its profits to its shareholders, but donates all of the profits to a…
The CRA has recently proposed annulment of the registration of Dying with Dignity Canada (DWD), a Canadian registered charity. In terms of full disclosure I am a legal counsel to DWD. Here is a note from DWD and…
Here is a copy of the slides of a presentation made by Cathy Hawara, Director General of the Charities Directorate of CRA, to the PFC conference in October 2014. It covers some interesting material.
It seems that about every year there is a new T3010 form. CRA has released the T3010 Registered Charity Information Return for returns for fiscal year ends after Jan 1, 2015. Here is the slightly revised T3010 (15e) Registered Charity Information Return…
The CRA Corporate Business Plan discusses CRA plans. It provides some interesting information on the Charities Directorate. Here are some of the highlights: The Charities Directorate has a budget of about $29,154,434. It has about 333 Full Time Equivalent positions. Here…
Imagine Canada has obtained an interesting sessional paper from the Canada Revenue Agency. The questions responded to were provided by MP Hedy Fry. The paper provides some insight into CRA activity relating to charities and political activities. Here is a…
The case of Dominion Nickel Investments Ltd v. The Queen, 2015 TCC 14 (CanLII) deals with a motion on CRA disclosure and the extent to which CRA is allowed to redact certain information when it discloses the information as part of a…
On February 11, 2015, I will be delivering a webinar for the Ontario Nonprofit Network (ONN) entitled “Advocacy and Political Activities: Busting myths and misconceptions!” Here is the information on the webinar: Webinar Wednesdays: Advocacy and Political Activities: Busting myths…
I received an email from Marni Soupcoff of the Canadian Constitution Foundation. She discusses the narrative that supposedly no “right-leaning” groups are being audited for political activities. I thought I would share it. Dear Mr. Blumberg, On January 20, news broke…
The Canadian Charity Law Association is delivering some upcoming webinars. More information on each of these webinars and how to register is provided below: March 4th at 12:00 pm EDT: “Groundbreaking Report: Time, Treasure and Talent: Canadian Women and Philanthropy”…
Non-profits and charities should be aware of their potential obligations under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (the “AODA”). The AODA was introduced in 2005 to establish accessibility requirements and standards for employers and providers of goods and…
Starting January 15, 2015, the CASL provisions pertaining to the installation of computer programs come into effect. These new provisions require persons who install software or computer programs on another person’s computer system, in the course of commercial activity, to…
Mark will be presenting at the OHA 3nd Annual Strengthening Foundation Governance Workshop on May 22, 2015 on “Top Compliance Issues for Foundations”. Here is the blurb: “Top Compliance Issues for Foundations”. • An examination of the top legal compliance…
The US GAO has issued a report entitled “Tax-exempt organizations: Better Compliance Indicators and Data, and More Collaboration with State Regulators Would Strengthen Oversight of Charitable Organizations”. The report provides an overview of the US tax exempt/non-profit sector and also discusses improving transparency and sharing with state regulators to have…
CBC discusses charitable giving in an article entitled “Holiday giving? Don't pick a charity by financial statements alone: Research, volunteer and donate directly if you want to give smart this holiday season”. The article discusses some ideas as to how donors…
Over the last 6 weeks Corporations Canada of Industry Canada has sent out an estimated 16,000 notices to approximately 6000 Canadian Federal non-profit corporations that are still under the Canada Corporations Act (CCA). Industry Canada sends notices to the corporation and…
We have discussed on this blog the Broader Public Sector Executive Compensation Act, 2014 (the “Act”). The Act has now been passed on December 9, 2014 and received Royal Assent on December 11, 2014. It will be interesting to see…
We are looking forward to presenting the Blumbergs' Canadian Charity Law Boot Camp 2015 on April 14, 2015. For information or to register see: Blumbergs' Canadian Charity Law Boot Camp 2015
The Charities Directorate of the Canada Revenue Agency has revoked the charitable registration of Ecotecture: Centre for Ecological Art and Architecture for its involvement in a scheme known as the Via Project or Vintage Iconic Archives. The former registered charity…