Here is an updated Blumbergs’ Canadian Charity Legal Checklist. It is a checklist for Canadian registered charities to assist them with managing compliance issues. We use it as part of our informal risk reviews for registered charities. It focuses on top…
On July 16, the Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying Canada released a new bulletin, interpreting (or, re-interpreting) the in-house lobbying registration threshold under section 7(1)(b) of the Lobbying Act (Canada). This quiet, yet substantial, change will have a significant…
It is essential for charities, whether in England and Wales, or in Canada, to exercise caution when sharing resources on websites, social media, and elsewhere. Resources should not support terrorism or partisan political causes. We have recently blogged about social…
The Charity Commission for England and Wales’ social media guidance serves as a good reminder—and resource—for the responsible use of social media among charitable organizations. This guidance, while based on English and Welsh law, nevertheless provides Canadian charities with helpful…
There is unprecedented change and disruption at the moment around the world, including in Canada. This free presentation Surviving the Storm – Legal Issues for Canadian Non-Profits and Charities in Tough Times on April 28, 2025 @ 12:00 pm –…
It is important that Canadian non-profits and registered charities are aware of what is going on politically in Canada and also engage in appropriate and relevant political activities, as allowed by law. Unfortunately, for NPOs and charities, it is far…
There was a recent article in the Toronto Star discussing the TDSB to vote on controversial fundraising change some call a ‘tariff on parent donations’. It is worth reading. I was recently on a panel for the Walrus Talks that…
Prime Minister Carney is expected to announce a Federal election that will be held on April 28, 2025. It is important that Canadian non-profits and registered charities are aware of what is going on politically in Canada and also engage…
Earlier this week, the National Post published an article, entitled “Diaspora groups call on Canada to activate foreign agent registry ahead of federal election.” The article outlined diaspora groups’ displeasure with the indeterminate timeline for rolling out the foreign influence…
Here is an updated Canadian Charity Legal Checklist by Mark Blumberg – May 2024. It is a checklist for Canadian registered charities to assist them with managing compliance issues. We use it as part of our informal risk reviews for registered charities.…
Today, the Federal Liberal Government proposed Bill C-70 An Act respecting countering foreign interference. Here is the text of Bill C-70 In the summary of the Bill, it states that the Bill in: “Part 4 enacts the Foreign Influence Transparency…
I recently read an interesting article on the “Regulation of Foreign Funding of Nonprofits in a Democracy” by Nick Robinson. The article provides lots of ideas as to how one can think about the complicated area of how much regulation…
Here is a presentation delivered by Mark Blumberg for CharityVillage on October 19, 2023. Top Ten Compliance Issues for Canadian Registered Charities Summary: A great deal has been written about legal compliance surrounding charities in Canada. Much of that material, however,…
The UK has far better transparency when it comes to charities than we have in Canada. It is interesting to read a report by the Charity Commission on England and Wales into a charity – Care4Calais. As we know, in…
Here is an updated Canadian Charity Legal Checklist by Mark Blumberg – July 2023. It is a checklist for Canadian registered charities to assist them with managing compliance issues. We use it as part of our informal risk reviews for…
This two-part course will be on Tuesday, August 15 and Wednesday, August 16, 2023. Both sessions will be from 12:00 – 4:00 PM EST. You can register here: Fundamentals of Running a Canadian Charitable Organization/Operating Charity – Online There are…
We recently updated our course titled Fundamentals of Running a Private or Public Foundation in Canada. This seven-hour course focuses on compliance issues with an emphasis on those specifically relevant to running a private or public foundation that is a…
Not sure how many people have an hour to hear me discuss with Mary Barroll, President of CharityVillage, issues facing the Canadian non-profit and charity sector. For those who are interested in the sector and its future, it may be worthwhile. I try…
Recently the Future of Good had an article written by Gabe Oatley entitled Investigation: Ontario Trillium Foundation ‘Muzzled’ Charities with Changes to Advocacy Policy. The article raises two primary questions – does the OTF refuse to fund groups who are…
I saw some interesting questions posed by Ken Wyman relating to advocacy on LinkedIn. Ken, who is a well-known fundraising expert, has always been interested in advocacy and he shared his list with us. Canadian non-profits and charities often don’t…
As an update to our previous article, we recently received Government of Canada a copy of an ATIP disclosure document entitled: Records relating to the mandate letter commitment to make anti-abortion charities lose their charitable status from November 30, 2021…
Here is the Blumbergs Canadian Charity Sector Snapshot 2021. We recently reviewed the T3010 Registered Charity Information Return database for 2021 as part of the Sean Blumberg Transparency Project. The database covers about 83,771 of the approximately 86,000 registered charities…
Many people are quite worried about the Ontario Government’s use of the notwithstanding clause in the Keeping Students in Class Act that imposes a 4-year collective agreement on a group of workers (educational assistants, custodians and early childhood educators) that…
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.…