We are proud to present the Blumbergs’ Snapshot of the Ontario Charity Sector 2014. The data subset used is the CRA's 2014 T3010 data but only for registered charities based in Ontario. A large part of the Canadian registered charity sector is based…
As many know the CRA has launched a consultation on political activities by Canadian charities. The Canadian Charity Law Association will be having Mark Blumberg present a webinar on the consultation and various ways of responding or not responding to it.…
As part of the CRA focus on political activities the CRA did some educational activities and awareness raising about the rules for Canadian charities conducting political activities. Here is a copy of the Charities Directorate Political Activities Education and Information Plan.
Here is a CRA Questions and Answers on Charity Sector regulation and political activities from 2012 that was obtained through access to information. It discusses the Charities Directorate's role, strategic priorities, how charities will be selected for audit, and other matters.
Here is the Draft CRA Communications Strategy from January 2013 on charities and political activities. The comms strategy discusses CRA's response to the 2012 Federal Budget changes affecting Canadian charities and political activities.
Imagine Canada has put out a very interesting report on a survey of Canadian charities and their answers relating to political activities. The Sector Monitor report is prepared by David Lasby of Imagine Canada and is well worth reading. One of the…
Here is a copy of a few documents from the Charities Directorate dealing with the political activities audit conducted by the CRA. CRA released under access to information, their critical path, process and performance measurement framework for charity political activity audits.…
The CRA today launched its political activity consultation. It reinforces the importance of charities being engaged in the political process. The CRA is looking for feedback on the rules and CRA's guidance. People or organizations have until November 25, 2016…
The CRA has issued a media advisory that the “Honourable Diane Lebouthillier, Minister of National Revenue, will launch public consultations to clarify the rules regarding the involvement of registered charities in political activities.” She will make the announcement tomorrow, Tuesday, September…
We recently obtained a copy of the CRA analysis of charities that disclosed on the T3010 they did political activities. In a note from Bryan McLean, Director of Policy, Planning and Legislation Division of CRA to Cathy Hawara the then current Director General of the…
Last week we posted the CRA Compliance Framework for Files with Identified Political Activities. Now here is the draft CRA Assessment of Charities Directorate Political Activities Audit Program against Oct 2012 Compliance Framework. It was prepared by the Charities Directorate of…
The Liberal Government has made some noises about modernizing charity law. Who could be opposed to modernization? As there is no idea as to what “modernization” means, it has opened up all sorts of calls for changes to charity law…
Here is a copy of the CRA Compliance Framework for Files with Identified Political Activities from the Charities Directorate of the CRA. It is dated October 9, 2012. It provides some answers to some of the questions around how were…
Here is a copy of a CRA Powerpoint presentation slide deck on the Regulation of Charities – Overview – September 2014. It provides some useful information including the CRA's audit plan. For example, the audit plan shows that CRA planned on auditing…
A Canadian charity has launched a charter challenge against the restrictions on registered charities in carrying out political activities. They argue that it violates freedom of speech and assembly amongst other things. The CBC covered it in an article entitled “Anti-poverty…
We have uploaded a copy of the “secret” CRA Ministerial Transition Briefing Binder provided to the new Minister of Revenue Diane Lebouthillier in November 2015. It was obtained pursuant to access to information. It covers the mundane matters such as roles and…
The Daily Beast has a rather extensive article on Donald Trump's use of the Trump Foundation entitled Donald Trump Accused of Using His Charity as a Political Slush Fund. It is well worth reading. I have criticized the Clinton Foundation for…
I am pleased to be on a panel for AFP GTA Fundraising Day with Caroline Riseboro, Bruce MacDonald, Hilary Pearson, and Stewart Wong. The topic of the panel will be “The Time is Now: Government Relations for Canadian Charities”. Here is the…
We have just released the Blumbergs' Snapshot of the Canadian Charity Sector 2014 as part of the Sean Blumberg Transparency Project. This is the fifth snapshot provided by Blumbergs of the Canadian charity sector. The database covers about 84,500 of the 86,000 registered…
I look forward to the AFP GTA Fundraising Day 2016 which will be held on June 9, 2016. There will be various speakers and panels. I will be on a panel with Bruce MacDonald (Imagine Canada), Hilary Pearson (PFC), Caroline Riseboro (Plan International), Stewart…
Here is an article “Sunny days for charities and political activities? But lack of transparency results in some clouds” which discusses a recent press release from the Minister of National Revenue dealing with the charity political audit program.
Diane Lebouthillier, the new Minister of National Revenue has announced that the 2012 Conservative government initiative to audit more registered charities on the issue of political activities will be wound down. There is a lot in the release and I…
The Charity Commission of England and Wales just released a report entitled Campaigning and political issues arising in the run-up to the 2015 General Election. When they put it out they probably did not think that it is such a special…
On November 9, 2015 I will be presenting a program for the Ontario Bar Association, along with Nevena Urosevic, on Top Compliance Issues for Canadian Charities. It is available both in-person and by webcast. Here is the blurb and information on registration: Top…