If you went to an arts conference and someone said Monet, Picasso and Michael Jackson are all the same – they are R&B musicians, you would probably want to move away from that person quickly!  Unfortunately, this level of flawed analysis is quite common in coverage of the charity sector.

There is a group in Canada called Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network. You can read about them on the internet if you are interested.  I wanted to only comment on one matter which is the difference between a “non-profit” and a “registered charity”.  Some people have been referring to them as being a charity or registered charity and have been demanding that the Federal government or Charities Directorate remove their charitable status. They are a non-profit organization and not a registered charity.   The Charities Directorate cannot take away their “charitable” status any more than they can take away Vladimir Putin’s registered charity status, as Vladimir Putin is not a Canadian registered charity.

I just want to reiterate that registered charities and non-profits are not the same thing.

Registered Charity

A registered charity is an organization that is registered by the Charities Directorate as a registered charity on the Charities Listing.  Registered charities are charitable organizations, public foundations, or private foundations that are created and resident in Canada. They must use their resources for charitable activities and have charitable purposes that fall into one or more of the following categories:

• the relief of poverty
• the advancement of education
• the advancement of religion
• other purposes that benefit the community

They are all registered with the Charities Directorate.  If they are not on the Charities Listing, they are not a Canadian registered charity.  Being on the Charities Listing does not mean that you are a good organization, but it does mean that you are technically a registered charity.

Non-Profit

Under the Income Tax Act, a non-profit organization is an association, club, or society that is operated exclusively for social welfare, civic improvement, pleasure, recreation, or any other purpose except profit. It is not a charity. No part of the organization’s income can be payable to or available for the personal benefit of any proprietor, member, or shareholder.

Unlike registered charities, non-profit corporations have greater flexibility in terms of their purposes and the activities they can engage in.

While many organizations established/incorporated under an act like the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act (“CNCA”) may be ‘non-profits,’ they may not meet the definition of a non-profit under Section 149(1)(l) of the Income Tax Act (Canada) and may, in fact, be a for-profit corporation.

Non-profits, whether incorporated or not, do not have the same oversight over their operations as registered charities since they are not overseen by the Charities Directorate of CRA. Instead, a federal non-profit corporation is governed by corporate law, such as in this case, the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act, with very limited oversight from Corporations Canada and further oversight by a tiny unit within the Canada Revenue Agency. This non-profit unit of the Canada Revenue Agency has limited involvement with non-profits, and they are primarily concerned with the filing of the T2 and T1044, and whether the non-profit engages in profitable business activities and should rather be categorized as a for-profit taxable entity.  They have nothing to do with “registered charities”.

While non-profit corporations are unable to issue official donation receipts for gifts and cannot receive gifts from other Canadian registered charities, they do have greater flexibility with respect to how they spend their funds, etc.

Unfortunately, there is almost no transparency in Canada about non-profits and limited transparency about registered charities.  I am interested in more transparency about non-profits and charities in Canada.

If it is of interest to you, here is a submission that I recently made to the Finance Committee of the House of Commons on improving transparency in the non-profit and charitable sector:   Blumbergs’ Pre-Budget Submission for the 2025 Canadian Federal Budget

We have been making similar submissions for about a decade with only minor impact!

Here is the information on Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network from the Corporations Canada database:

https://ised-isde.canada.ca/cc/lgcy/fdrlCrpDtls.html?corpId=12793741

Federal Corporation Information

Glossary of Terms used on this page

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Corporation Number   1279374-1

Business Number (BN)   774927545RC0001

Corporate Name  Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network
Le Réseau de Solidarité aux Prisonniers palestiniens Samidoun

Status Active

Governing Legislation Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act – 2021-03-03

Note:Order a Corporate Profile [View PDF Sample] [View HTML Sample].

Find existing extra-provincial registrations of this corporation on Canada’s Business registries 

Registered Office Address

1844 East 1st Avenue
Vancouver BC V5N 1B1
Canada

Note

Active NFP Act corporations are required to update this information. Changes are only legally effective when filed with Corporations Canada. A corporation key is required. If you are not authorized to update this information, you can either contact the corporation or contact Corporations Canada. We will inform the corporation of its reporting obligations.

Directors

Minimum 1

Maximum 10

• Dave Diewert
  11084 148th Street
  Surrey BC V3R 3Y8
  Canada
• Charlotte Lynne Kates
  1844 East 1st Avenue
  Vancouver BC V5N 1B1
  Canada
• Thomas Gerhard Hofland
  Uilenstede 510-8
  Amstelveen 1183DE
  Netherlands

Note

Active NFP Act corporations are required to update director information (names, addresses, etc.) within 15 days of any change. A corporation key is required. If you are not authorized to update this information, you can either contact the corporation or contact Corporations Canada. We will inform the corporation of its reporting obligations.

Annual Filings

Anniversary Date (MM-DD)

03-03

Date of Last Annual Meeting

2023-04-06

Annual Filing Period (MM-DD)

03-03 to 05-02

Type of Corporation

Non-Soliciting

Status of Annual Filings

• 2024 – Filed
• 2023 – Filed
• 2022 – Filed

Corporate History

Corporate Name History
2021-03-03 to Present	Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network	2021-03-03 to Present	Le Réseau de Solidarité aux Prisonniers palestiniens Samidoun

Certificates and Filings

Certificate of Incorporation

2021-03-03

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