Canadian Charity Law List August 2025

Every year, Blumbergs has its Blumbergs’ Canadian Charity Law Institute. So, please join us on Monday, October 6, 2025, for the 14th Blumbergs’ Canadian Charity Law Institute. Registration and introductions will begin at 12:30 PM EST, and the Institute will run until 4:00 PM EST.

It will be a half-day of practical legal and ethical compliance information geared toward charities, professional advisors, and those interested in regulatory issues affecting charities and the non-profit sector. The price is $175 for the Institute. We will be covering several different topics, and they will be posted closer to the time. There is an early bird special of $125 for a limited time.

How understanding compliance can be an asset and help with advancing your mission, Mark Blumberg, Blumbergs Professional Corporation

Navigating the Risks of AI for Registered Charities, Maddy Sawyer, Blumbergs Professional Corporation

Generosity Without Justification, André Scott, Tax Policy Officer, Department of Finance Canada

CNCA Updates, Valerie Carpentier, Manager, Policy Section, Corporations Canada, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, Government of Canada

Regulatory and Policy Challenges to Philanthropy and the Nonprofit Sector in the US under the Trump Administration, Mark Sidel, Doyle-Bascom Professor of Law and Public Affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Madison

Emerging Trends in the International Regulation and Accountability of NGOs, Domenico Carolei, Lecturer at University of Stirling in Human Rights and NGO Law

New Course: Governance for Canadian Charities and Non-Profits and their Boards of Directors

After almost three decades of dealing with governance for Canadian registered charities and non-profits and their directors, Mark Blumberg has now created a course to help non-profits and charities understand governance. We hope that you find it helpful. Here is a description of the course:

This course will be of interest to those involved with non-profits and charities in Canada, including Directors/Board Members, Fundraisers, Financial staff, Program staff, volunteers, Members, Funders and government regulators.

New Canadian Charity Law Association Webinars Added for 2025

New Course: Why some US and international charities may want to have a headquarters or affiliate in Canada?

RECENT BLOGS

Canadian Family Offices article “Private foundations are on the upswing, but not all families are doing them well”

Mark Blumberg was recently interviewed by Mary Gooderham from Canadian Family Offices on private foundations in Canada. The article is a mix of issues relating to private foundations and some of his personal background. Here is the article:

Our new series “CRA Charity Application Graveyard” will discuss some of the most common reasons that registered charity application require changes or are denied

Applying to be a registered charity is not as simple as many other requests of CRA, such as opening an HST account or changing your fiscal year end. In our new series “CRA Charity Application Graveyard” we will discuss some of the most common reasons that registered charity applications require changes or are denied. We hope that this series will be helpful. We have included 19 of the reasons in this newsletter, and we will be releasing more instalments over the next couple of months.

New and Updated Blumbergs' Canadian Charity Legal Checklist by Mark Blumberg - August 2025

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 CRA compliance issues.

If you have compliance concerns with your registered charity, you can contact our firm and retain us to conduct a consultation or risk review. On the other hand, if you want to confirm that you have no compliance issues, you can also contact us!

Federal Government has released draft legislation for previously announced enhanced reporting by non-profits that are not charities from the 2024 Fall Economic Statement

Although Finance used the word “transparency,” it does not really add any transparency for the public, but only to a few CRA employees. It is good that they will be improving the T1044 form to collect more information, but it really should be public so Canadians can know about this important sector. We made a submission on this point a few weeks ago.

This proposal will mean that many non-profit organizations that had no filing requirement will now have a filing requirement.

Ontario rules for compensation of certain directors of Ontario charities or registered charities 2025

CBC article “Donations to Sean Feucht groups via B.C.-based charity add to financial transparency concerns raised in Canada”

Trinity Global Support Foundation v. Canada (Attorney General) 2025 FC 363 – CRA uses HST rebate to pay off taxes owed

This Federal Court decision Trinity Global Support Foundation v. Canada (Attorney General) 2025 FC 363 related to whether CRA owed a former registered charity funds relating to Public Service Body GST/HST rebate. CRA had taken the funds that may have been owed to the former registered charity and used them to pay an outstanding tax obligation of the charity, the Part V debt owed when a registered charity is revoked. The Part V tax is based on the value of the revoked charity after certain debts and liabilities are dealt with. The challenge by the former registered charity was dismissed by the Court.

Aidoo v. The King 2025 TCC 100 -argument that CRA was racist is rejected by TCC

In the Aidoo v. The King case, there is an interesting argument made that the CRA should have done more to prevent abusive charity gifting tax schemes and that BIPOC communities were disproportionately affected by these schemes, and therefore the CRA’s conduct is racist. The judge does not accept this line of criticism of CRA.

In Ayre v. The King 2025 TCC 41 the Tax Court of Canada dismissed appeals relating to some charity gifting tax schemes

In the never-ending saga of charity gifting tax schemes, the TCC recently dismissed a number of appeals from over 100 taxpayers in Ayre, N. et al. v. The King 2025 TCC 41 relating to “donations” made about 15-17 years ago. There were 6 lead cases and 99 taxpayers who were bound by the result of the appeals.

CRA discloses Leads Screening Procedures for the Compliance Division of the Charities Directorate although it is heavily redacted

CRA’s C1/B1 Application for Registration CHECKLIST -helpful if applying for registered charity status with the Charities Directorate of CRA

If you are applying for registered charity status with the Charities Directorate of CRA, you might find this 3-page CRA Checklist helpful.

Corporations Canada continues with dissolution of CNCA corporations that have not filed annual return for 3 years – June 2025 list

About 10,000 CNCA corporations that have not filed their annual returns in the last 3 years will be dissolved. Below are some further approximately 336 names of corporations that have been dissolved. We have discussed this topic in multiple previous blogs. If a registered charity is dissolved, it will eventually lose its charitable status with the CRA.

A further 213 CNCA corporations that have not filed their annual returns for 3 years are proposed for dissolution

The following 213 corporations are slated for dissolution by Corporations Canada for non-filing of their annual return (Form 4022). Some of the groups may have subsequently done their filings and they may have been removed from the list. Some of the groups may not have operated for many years, and dissolution is not necessarily a negative outcome. However, others may still be operating, and the failure to file their annual returns with Corporations Canada could be a costly mistake. Also, if a CNCA corporation is dissolved and it is a registered charity, then eventually, it will lose its registered charity status with the Charities Directorate of CRA. Groups have 120 days to rectify their filings.

Ontario Government makes some small improvements to the Ontario Business Registry (OBR) in August 2025

The Ontario Government has recently announced some small improvements to the Ontario Business Registry that will be helpful for Ontario non-profits under the Ontario Not-for-Profit Corporations Act (“ONCA”).

The Ontario Business Registry (OBR) allows Ontario and other non-profit corporations to do searches and filings in Ontario

The Ontario Business Registry (OBR), introduced in 2019, moved Ontario from a microfiche-based corporate system to a modern database system. Admittedly, the initial rollout was not great, and there have been many improvements to the system. This blog outlines the types of transactions a non-profit can perform using the OBR.

A common problem – a charity loses its registered charity status for failure to file the T3010 and does not even know

If you think that you are a registered charity, you might want to double-check on the CRA’s Charities Listing and also check the “Details Page” to ensure that your address is still correct.

Here is an article by Bethany Lindsay of the Investigative Journalism Foundation:

Essentially a search and rescue charity had lost its charitable status because the address CRA had for the charity was not up-to-date (ie. the charity had not provided CRA with an updated address) and the warnings that the charity was sent about not filing their T3010 were never received by the charity and subsequently CRA revoked their charitable status for failure to file.

DIY Official Donation Receipts: Some important reminders when dealing with Official Donation Receipts and Canadian Registered Charities

Here is a brief reminder of some of the most basic aspects of issuing official donation receipts.

Canada (National Revenue) v. Ne'eman Foundation Canada, 2025 FC 670 - Ne'eman Foundation unsuccessful in opposing jeopardy order

We have covered the ongoing saga of the Ne’eman Foundation, which was a registered charity and revoked by CRA in August of 2024. CRA has assessed the Ne’eman Foundation approximately $2.5m in federal taxes. CRA was concerned that the funds would not be dealt with appropriately and went to court ex parte to try to obtain, on November 25, 2024, a “jeopardy order”. Mr. Justice William Pentney granted the order on November 29, 2024. We covered the unusual procedure in a blog.

The Ne’eman Foundation subsequently brought a motion to set as the jeopardy order.

Further warnings by the Charity Commission on problematic use of social media by 2 charities

Here are two further warnings by the Charity Commission of England and Wales about problematic charity social media use. I have no reason to believe that CRA would necessarily take a different position, and therefore, Canadian charities should pay close attention. The only difference is that whereas the Charity Commission is putting out a press release now (because England and Wales has better transparency rules relating to charities), the CRA, on the other hand, can only say anything publicly after it has penalized, suspended or revoked a charity that is involved with similar types of conduct because of the old confidentiality requirements of the ITA. So we will be hearing perhaps in 1-5 years of more Canadian registered charities being revoked for inappropriate social media use. As you can tell, I think that the transparency rules in Canada need to be changed.

CRA’s not so complicated view of registered charity by-laws

This blog discusses CRA’s attitude towards by-laws. The by-laws are generally part of the governing documents and should be provided to CRA. However, CRA will place the by-laws in your registered charity’s file “without review”. Keep that in mind if you think that the most important legal document for a registered charity is your by-law!

Understanding Articles of Amendment vs. Restated Articles of Incorporation

When changing the governing documents of a non-profit (such as under ONCA or the CNCA), it’s important to understand the different functions of Articles of Amendment and Restated Articles of Incorporation. These documents serve different purposes but work together to update an entity’s corporate records. We discuss this in greater detail in this blog.

CRA Charity Application Graveyard – Reason #19 “Social activities and purposes”

In this installment of the Charity Application Graveyard, we discuss Social Activities and purposes.

CRA Charity Application Graveyard – Reason #18 “Activities outside Canada – Agency agreement not sufficient”

In this installment of the Charity Application Graveyard, we discuss “Activities outside Canada – Agency agreement not sufficient”.

CRA Charity Application Graveyard – Reason #17 “Use of resources”

In this installment of the Charity Application Graveyard, we discuss a charity’s “Use of resources”

CRA Charity Application Graveyard – Reason #16 “Promotion of multiculturalism”

In this installment of the Charity Application Graveyard, we discuss “Promotion of multiculturalism”.

CRA Charity Application Graveyard – Reason #15 “Promotion of the arts”

In this installment of the Charity Application Graveyard, we discuss “Promotion of the arts”

CRA Charity Application Graveyard – Reason #14 Promotion of culture

In this installment of the Charity Application Graveyard, we discuss “promotion of culture”.

CRA Charity Application Graveyard – Reason #13 “Private foundation operating a business”

In this installment of the Charity Application Graveyard, we discuss a “Private foundation operating a business”.

CRA Charity Application Graveyard – Reason #12 “Carrying on a related business”

In this installment of the Charity Application Graveyard, we discuss “Carrying on a related business”.

CRA Charity Application Graveyard - Reason #11 "Fundraising- Collateral purpose”

In this installment of the Charity Application Graveyard, we discuss “Fundraising- Collateral purpose”.

CRA Charity Application Graveyard - Reason #10 "Fundraising- High income to expense ratio”

In this installment of the Charity Application Graveyard, we discuss “Fundraising- High income to expense ratio”.

CRA Charity Application Graveyard - Reason #9 "Financial Transactions with Directors”

In this installment of the Charity Application Graveyard, we discuss “Financial Transactions with Directors”.

CRA Charity Application Graveyard – Reason #8 “Public Benefit – Restricted beneficiaries”

In this installment of the Charity Application Graveyard, we discuss “Public Benefit – Restricted beneficiaries”.

CRA Charity Application Graveyard – Reason #7 Concerns re: no Public Benefit

In this installment of the Charity Application Graveyard, we discuss CRA concerns re: no Public Benefit.

CRA Charity Application Graveyard – Reason #6 “Lack of information on Activities”

In this installment of the Charity Application Graveyard, we discuss “Lack of information on Activities,” which is probably one of the most frequently cited CRA concerns.

CRA Charity Application Graveyard – Reason #5 Unstated Purposes

In this installment of the Charity Application Graveyard, we discuss “Unstated Purposes”.

CRA Charity Application Graveyard – Reason #4 “Purposes don’t reflect activities”

In this installment of the Charity Application Graveyard, we discuss CRA’s concern when “Purposes don’t reflect activities”.

CRA Charity Application Graveyard – Reason # 3 Advancement of religion versus the promotion of a philosophy

In this installment of the Charity Application Graveyard, we discuss the Advancement of religion versus the promotion of a philosophy.

CRA Charity Application Graveyard – Reason # 2 Lack of sufficient information for the Advancement of Religion purpose

In this installment of the Charity Application Graveyard, we discuss the lack of sufficient information for the Advancement of Religion purpose.

CRA Charity Application Graveyard – Reason #1 “Broad and vague language” in your purposes

In this installment of the Charity Application Graveyard, we discuss CRA’s concern about “Broad and vague language” in the purposes of a charity applicant.

Blumbergs’ Pre-Budget Submission for the 2025 Canadian Federal Budget - dated July 28, 2025

Here is the Blumbergs’ Pre-Budget Submission for the 2025 Canadian Federal Budget. For those who have been following our law firm’s submissions over the last ten or more years, they have focused on transparency and accountability in the non-profit and charity sector. Groups have until August 1, 2025, to file their pre-budget submission for the 2025 Federal Budget.

A lowered lobbying threshold at the Federal level – will your organization be a lobbyist organization?

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 impact on organizations and corporations that would not traditionally consider themselves “lobbyists”.

Gifting by one registered charity to another registered charity is not always simple and failure to appreciate the complexity can result in a heavy price

People often think that when you are a registered charity, such as a charitable organization, public foundation, or private foundation, it is easy to donate to another registered charity. We all know that moving money from a registered charity to a non-qualified donee–such as a nonprofit or a foreign charity–is not simple; however, some believe that moving money from a registered charity to another registered charity is simple.

Of course, there are instances where gifting from a registered charity to another registered charity is simple; however, these instances can make it difficult for some to recognize factors that make gifting from one registered charity to another complex, problematic, or costly. In this note, we are going to discuss “designated gifts”, a special anti-avoidance rule in the Income Tax Act (Canada) that you need to be aware of if you are running a charity and wish to make a gift to another registered charity.

Charitable Organizations' Responsible Use of Social Media

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 tools and recommendations for responsible social media usage and managing the potential risks posed by social media.

The key piece of guidance from the Commission is to develop a social media policy. A social media policy is an internal document that provides guidelines for how employees, volunteers, and other representatives ought to conduct themselves on social media.

Charity Commission critical of one UK charity that shared a video supporting Hamas and another that made inflammatory social media posts

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 media use by charities and the importance of having a social media policy. In this note, we provide two press releases recently circulated by the Charity Commission of England and Wales dealing with problematic social media posts from two different charities.

Canadian Federal Court of Appeal Decisions Relating to Registered Charities

I was recently perusing the website of the Canadian Federal Court of Appeal (FCA) and noticed some decisions that relate to registered charities and RCAAAs that some may not be aware of, so I made a list of some of them. If you are interested in charity law you might find the list helpful.

IJF article "Vancouver address for 189 charities belongs to firm led by ‘ineligible individual’"

The Investigative Journalism Foundation (IJF) recently wrote an article on ineligible individuals and how one office that was the address for 189 charities was apparently run by an ineligible individual. Here is the article:

If you are wondering what the rules for ineligible individuals are, you might find the CRA guidance on Ineligible Individuals to be helpful.

Bequests are good but please make sure that the name of the beneficiary charity is correct

In Bridgewater v. Stockey, 2024 ONSC 6165, there was a bequest in a will that read “I leave to Guide Dogs of Canada the balance of my estate after all liabilities have been settled.” Needless to say, there is no charity with the name “Guide Dogs of Canada” and a number of charities use the term “guide dogs”. You really don’t want bequests to be this complicated and involve so much effort. It is essential that people who want to leave a bequest have a proper will and ensure that the name of the charity is accurate.

CRA announces new digital filing option for T3010 forms for Canadian registered charities

Since 2019, Canadian registered charities have been able to file their T3010 electronically by setting up an account on the CRA My Business Account (My BA) system. Approximately 30% of Canadian charities are currently filing their T3010 using the CRA My BA system. If you know how hard it is to get registered charities to try something new, then one would realize that that is quite a success.

There are three other ways that a Canadian charity can file its T3010, including the following:

This announcement relates to the third option above, namely, using certified software. There are nine companies that have certified software and two of those companies have now been certified that their T3010 form can be uploaded directly onto the CRA MyBA system. Therefore, with these two groups (Canadian Centre for Christian Charities and the Intuit ProFile), the T3010s do not need to be printed out and mailed in, but can be filed electronically. This will be helpful in terms of saving CRA resources and also reduce inputting errors on CRA’s part.

Concerns about Bill C-2, Strong Borders Act and prohibiting cash donations over $10,000

Some, like the CCCC, have expressed concerns as to how this would affect Canadian charities. Specifically, I will focus on one aspect, which is to make it a criminal offence for a business or charity to accept $10,000 or more in cash.

Recent CRA Notices of Penalty and Suspension for Canadian Registered Charities - Received June 2025

Recent CRA letters of revocation for Canadian registered charities - June 2025

How much did the largest Canadian private foundations spend in 2023?

Largest Canadian Registered Charities by Employment Compensation 2023

Which Canadian charities received the most revenue from the Federal government in 2023?

Which Canadian charities received the most revenue from Provincial Governments in 2023?

Which Canadian charities received the most revenue from Municipal Governments in 2023?

Here is our note Which Canadian charities received the most revenue from Municipal Governments in 2023?

Which Canadian charities spent money on foreign activities in 2023 and how much did they spend?

CharityData.ca updated to searching 2023 list of charities and to include some 2024 data

The CharityData.ca website has been updated so that searches are based on the 2023 CRA list of charities (which is now complete) and we are adding some 2024 data that was recently sent by CRA. The 2024 data is arriving much slower than in previous years.

Blumbergs’ Snapshot of the British Columbia Charity Sector 2023

Blumbergs’ Snapshot of the Quebec Charity Sector 2023

Blumbergs’ Snapshot of the Alberta Charity Sector 2023

Blumbergs’ Snapshot of the Charity Sector in Atlantic Canada 2023

Blumbergs’ Snapshot of the Ontario Charity Sector 2023

Blumbergs Snapshots of Designations - Charitable Organizations, Public Foundations and Private Foundations 2023

We recently reviewed the T3010 Registered Charity Information Return database for 2023 as part of the Sean Blumberg Transparency Project. The database covers about 83,540 of the approximately 86,000 registered charities in Canada that had filed their T3010 and were processed into CRA’s Charity Listing database by March 2025.

The CRA divides the Canadian charity sector into 3 designations, assigned to each charity when they receive their notice of registration. The three designations are public foundations, private foundations, and charitable organizations, and are determined by the charity’s structure, the source of their funding, and their mode of operation. Any charity with only one director, trustee, or official is automatically designated as a Private Foundation. More information on the designation system can be found on the Government of Canada’s website.

Charities should be careful who they invite as speakers to their events or premises

Charities have valuable assets, including real estate, facilities and platform/reputation. Charities need to be careful to ensure that those facilities are not improperly used. The Charity Commission of England and Wales has issued an order to a charity in the UK relating to certain concerns, including speakers, and requiring more substantial oversight over who is invited as a speaker. CRA has revoked at least one charity that I can think of for having speakers that CRA viewed as unacceptable for a registered charity. So, Canadian registered charities should have systems in place to try to prevent inappropriate speakers.

CPATA warns "Trademark Scam Circulating – CPATA Advises Public Caution"

CPATA, the Canadian Regulator of Patent Agents and Trademark Agents, is warning the public in its May newsletter again about questionable trademark emails circulating.

Blumbergs’ Snapshot of the Canadian Charity Sector 2023

CRA releases Aggregate Data from Form T1044 Non-Profit Organization (NPO) Information Return filings by non-profit organizations for 2021 and 2022

CRA has just released Aggregate Data from Form T1044 Non-Profit Organization (NPO) Information Return filings by non-profit organizations with fiscal period end dates in 2021 and 2022. There is a bit of a backstory for another day, but this is the information on certain non-profits that are not registered charities. Every year, we put out detailed information on registered charities, but there is a big void in terms of information on non-profits that are not registered charities, so I am very pleased that this information is now available.

The short summary of the aggregated data for 2022 is that about 36,060 organizations filed the T1044. There may be about 100,000 non-profits that are not registered charities in Canada, so this is certainly not all non-profits.

Of those that filed, total revenue is about $72 billion, total assets are about $116 billion, and total liabilities are around $59 billion. The total remuneration and benefits paid to all employees and officers are about $14B, and the total remuneration and benefits paid to employees and officers who are members are about $1.3B.

Media attention on the Foreign Influence Transparency Act and Accountability Act with a Federal election this year

The article outlined diaspora groups’ displeasure with the indeterminate timeline for rolling out the foreign influence transparency registry (the “registry”). The registry, which will be established under the Foreign Influence Transparency Act and Accountability Act (previously Bill C-70), received Royal Assent in June of 2024. However, the Liberal government has provided no further indication of what exactly this registry will look like or when it will come into effect.

Amidst this uncertainty, the government has received criticism for failing to provide concrete information and timelines on the registry’s rollout from supporters of the registry. Supporters of the registry wish to see its implementation before the next federal election, citing fears of foreign interference, particularly from authoritarian regimes.

Although preventing foreign interference is very important, I have written about my concerns with this particular piece of legislation as it will affect Canadian non-profits and registered charities. Here is my earlier blog post. In summary, my concern is that the terms “arrangement” and “political or government process” are very broad and the penalties very significant. Many charities and non-profits could be unwittingly caught in these definitions. There are now four different sets of rules applying to registered charities and political activities, ie. ITA, lobbying, election advertising and foreign interference. This is an unnecessarily complicated series of different regimes for having oversight over registered charities and their political activities.

"How Canadian mining exploration companies get millions from charitable donations tax loophole" by Gabe Oatley

CRA’s Charities Listing vs. Blumbergs’ CharityData.ca 2024

This article will try to show you some of the major differences between the CRA’s Charities Listing and the Blumbergs’ CharityData.ca databases as of November 2024 and why depending on what you want to do, one database may be better than another or you might need to access both databases.

US Form 990 filed by groups with addresses in Canada

The US Form 990 is filed by some organizations that have addresses in Canada. Sometimes, it is a Canadian charity or non-profit in Canada that has applied for 501(c)(3) status, but sometimes, it is a US 501(c)(3) that has an address in Canada.

What is the average revenue of a Canadian registered charity?

While the “average” or “mean” charity has revenue of $4.2m, the median charity revenue is $129,276. The median is the middle value when the revenues are arranged in ascending order This article discusses this in more detail.

Q and A from CRA about Grant to Grantees under the Qualifying Disbursement Rules

The new guidance is helpful, but because of the complexity of the wording from the Income Tax Act (Canada) and the lack of case law, there are lots of questions about how the rules will be interpreted.

Unlike the direction and control rules that have multiple court cases and decades of refined CRA guidance, there is very little relating to the grant to grantee rules. We also find that if we have a charity application or change to purposes requests, using these new rules can add 3-6 months to the amount of time it takes to receive a response over and above when a similar fact pattern is provided to CRA dealing with direction and control.

In January 2024, we wrote to CRA with various questions relating to the new grant to grantee rules.

In September 2024, CRA provided some responses to these questions. Some of the responses are more clear and helpful than others. Keep in mind that, ultimately, all the facts and circumstances will make a difference.

We are generally suggesting that Canadian charities avoid using these new grant-to-grantee rules unless absolutely necessary. We have blogged extensively about this topic before.

Does your Canadian registered charity really have direction and control over your foreign activities?

Some registered charities funding projects outside of Canada, unfortunately, are not complying with the Canadian rules for such activities. Not complying with the rules can lead to revocation. In this note we discuss the requirements.

When is a charity providing an undue benefit?

Charities do millions of transactions every year. When is a transaction with, for example, an individual or for-profit corporation appropriate, and when is it an undue benefit?

CRA recently, in a revocation letter, had a very good summary of the topic, and I have reproduced it below:

RCAAA Transparency Project 2023 -Registered Canadian Amateur Athletic Association filings and their financial statements

As part of the Sean Blumberg Transparency Project, we have requested from the CRA’s Charities Directorate copies of the Registered Canadian Amateur Athletic Associations (RCAAAs) T2052 Information Returns and financial statements for each of the RCAAAs. None of this information is provided on the CRA website or anywhere else unless an individual RCAAA places these documents up on their website or on social media. In this note, we provide RCAAA T2052 Information Returns and financial statements for each of the RCAAAs that CRA provided. All redactions are from CRA. This is almost 400 documents.

ONCA

The Ontario Not-for-Profit Corporations Act ("ONCA") transition period is over and some are asking what should they do?

Tens of thousands of Ontario non-profit corporations that were originally incorporated under Part III of the Corporations Act (Ontario), had a 3-year transition period during which to bring their constating documents (i.e. letters patent, by-laws, etc.) into conformity with the Ontario Not-for-Profit Corporations Act (“ONCA”). The 3-year transition period ended on October 18, 2024. Now the default provisions of ONCA will be deemed to apply, subject to certain exceptions, to ONCA corporations. In this note, we discuss what Ontario non-profits under Part III should do.

Blumbergs new updated Ontario Not-for-Profit Corporations Act (ONCA) Suitcase 2024

The new Ontario Not-for-profit Corporations Act, 2010 (ONCA) came into force on October 19, 2021. In 2013, we launched our first ONCA Suitcase, in which we consolidated available ONCA-related information in one PDF document, which we updated in November 2021.

We have further updated our ONCA Suitcase to assist non-profits in Ontario find information on ONCA. Information on ONCA is spread out on numerous different Ontario government websites, and often, the links from the Ontario government to important resources are not up-to-date. The main advantage of having all this information in one document is that you can see numerous different items (legislation, regulations, forms, handbook, notices, articles, etc.) in one place, and you can also search for words or phrases (usually Control F) throughout the document.

This document may not be comprehensive and may be updated in the future. It is current as of May 31, 2024. If you have suggestions for improving the ONCA Suitcase, let us know.

If you need to retain our law firm to assist with your ONCA changes, please contact us.

Ontario updates Ontario Not-for-Profit Corporations Act ("ONCA") forms and non-profits should use new forms

The Ontario government has sent out a notice that they have updated a number of the Ontario Not-For-Profit Corporations (ONCA) forms. When preparing an ONCA form, always try to use the most up-to-date form. Other forms than the ones mentioned in this notice have also recently been updated.

Tens of thousands of Ontario non-profit corporations need to bring their corporate documents into compliance with ONCA by October 18, 2024. There are now less than six months left.

If you wish to retain our law firm to assist your Ontario non-profit with the ONCA changes, you can contact us here. Unfortunately, because of the tight timeline and a large number of groups needing to make the change, we will not be able to help everyone.

How valuable is your time? Get legal advice before embarking on the ONCA transition.

It is so sad to see so many Ontario non-profits spending months or years working on draft documents and then coming to a law firm “for a quick review” that, unfortunately, results in the Ontario non-profit being told that the group needs to redraft almost everything. We discuss this problem in this note.

Reminder to Ontario non-profit corporations that the Ontario Business Registry (OBR) is often the least expensive way to obtain a search

There are a number of searches and filings that you can do directly on the Ontario Business Registry (OBR) with the Ontario Government. You can also use a search company (or what the Ontario Government refers to as an authorized service provider) and their website or portal but that can increase the fees dramatically. There are times when using a search company can be helpful, but often, it is absolutely not necessary.

This note discusses the Ontario Government costs and the additional costs from certain authorized service providers.

Options for dealing with ONCA for Ontario non-profit organizations

Why it is difficult to provide an estimate for legal services relating to ONCA transition or CNCA continuance for an existing non-profit or charity or registered charity

Many Ontario non-profit corporations are struggling with how to deal with the Ontario Not-for-Profit Corporations Act, 2010 (“ONCA”). Over 50,000 ONCA corporations will need to make changes to their governing documents to conform with the new ONCA by October 18, 2024. We are receiving many requests for estimates as to costs for governance changes relating to ONCA and hopefully this note will be helpful to understand the complexity of what seems like a simple question.

20 Ways We May Be Able To Help You With ONCA

Here is our new article 20 Ways We May Be Able To Help You With ONCA. It discusses ways in which our law firm may be able to assist non-profits in Ontario in dealing with the new Ontario Not-for-profit Corporations Act (“ONCA”) which came into force on October 19, 2021 and will affect over 50,000 Ontario non-profit corporations.

The article notes: “Every Ontario non-profit corporation that is currently under the OCA should have a strategy for making the changes required by ONCA. Some smaller corporations may undertake the required changes themselves, while others may wish to obtain legal counsel to assist with the transition.”

Lots of groups are NOT affected by the Ontario Not-for-Profit Corporations Act ("ONCA")

Over the last few months, there have been many newsletters and communications dealing with the recent corporate changes in Ontario that came into effect on October 19, 2021. There is widespread misunderstanding about these changes that have left some groups confused.

In this note, I am only going to focus on one issue, which is that many organizations think that ONCA will be applicable to them when, in fact, it may not be.

Ontario Annual Returns for Ontario Not-for-Profit Corporations Act (“ONCA”) Corporations

As many know, as of May 15, 2021, the Ontario Annual Return for OCA/ONCA non-profit corporations can no longer be filed with CRA (as part of the T3010 filing) and must be completed through the new Ontario Business Registry (OBR) system (or through third-party service providers under contract with the Ministry). From May 15, 2021, through October 18, 2021, corporations whose annual returns were due during that period were exempted, meaning these corporations did not have to file an annual return for 2021. Now, corporations that have an annual return due after October 18, 2021, must file an Annual Return.

How is CRA going to be handling ONCA and the many Ontario non-profit corporations that are registered charities

So far, there is nothing too definitive from the CRA on their approach to the Ontario Not-for-Profit Corporations Act (“ONCA”) and changes that will be made to governing documents to bring Ontario non-profit corporations into alignment with ONCA. Unlike the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act (“CNCA”) transition around 2011, when they had a very defined approach that does not appear to be the case with ONCA.

All Ontario non-profits that are registered charities and will be changing their governing documents will need to provide copies to CRA. Unlike the 2011 transition in handling Federal CNCA continuances, it does not appear that CRA will be grandfathering old and inappropriate object clauses. While the former CNCA policy was efficient in terms of a regulator and allocation of resources, it meant that some CNCA registered charities got to keep completely inappropriate objects.

Ontario charities under ONCA and grants to qualified donees - Ontario is a little more complicated than other provinces

In 2009, we wrote a short note entitled “Canadian Charities Based in Ontario and Grants to Qualified donees – Ontario is a little different” which discussed how Ontario charities could not just make grants to qualified donees which may be permitted under the Income Tax Act but are not permitted under Ontario law. We recently wrote to the Ontario Public Guardian and Trustee (OPGT) to obtain an update and see whether their position had changed on any of the qualified donees and new categories of qualified donees. There have been some changes. Namely, the PGT advises that “We consider the municipal or public body category a charity and would need to review the registered journalism organizations on a case-by-case basis. Our position on Foreign Universities hasn’t changed.” So here is our 2021 updated note:

Presentation "The Role of the Public Guardian and Trustee Under ONCA" from the OPGT

The Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee (OPGT) and its Charitable Property Program will be dealing with certain charitable aspects of the ONCA transition. Here is a presentation by the OPGT entitled “The Role of the Public Guardian and Trustee Under ONCA” that was recently delivered and the OPGT has given us permission to share it.

The presentation discusses the after-acquired clause, certain restricted words used in names of ONCA non-profits, the updated OPGT Handbook and other matters.

The objects of many Ontario non-profits that are registered charities might not be charitable or appropriate

This article discusses the importance of objects and why it is important for Ontario non-profit corporations that are registered charities to pay particular attention to their objects.

How to search for an Ontario non-profit corporation using the Ontario Business Registry

You can search for an Ontario non-profit corporation using the Ontario Business Registry (OBR). Here is a link to the OBR. Once you click the link you will need to scroll down and click on the blue icon that says “Search the Ontario Business Registry“.

Before the public availability of this registry, the only public list of Ontario non-profits was here.

If your non-profit organization needs assistance with corporate changes relating to the Ontario Not-For-Profit Corporations Act (ONCA), please contact us.

As we noted above, even some of Canada’s largest law firms are having significant problems dealing with the OBR system.

Ontario Not-For-Profit Corporations Act (ONCA) and "updating your by-laws" for your Ontario non-profit corporation

We often have people contacting us because they want to “update their by-law” because of the new Ontario Not-For-Profit Corporations Act (ONCA). Unfortunately, for most organizations, ONCA is not a time to “update” your by-law but much more is needed. Most organizations are going to need to file Articles of Amendment to replace provisions in their letters patent and supplementary letters patent. They may also find having restated articles to be helpful. As well, in most cases using a by-law that was formulated to comply with the Ontario Corporations Act (OCA) which dates back to 1907 is not going to be the correct approach. Instead in many cases, completely new by-laws will be easier and more efficient. You will also need board and membership resolutions and notices.

While some will make the change without using non-profit and charity lawyers, for many, especially charities, it is important to ensure not only that you make changes but that you make the correct changes. Small mistakes relating to important issues like membership can be very difficult to fix.

If your non-profit organization needs assistance with corporate changes relating to the Ontario Not-For-Profit Corporations Act (ONCA) please contact us.

Listing an Address for Service under ONCA

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 for an incorporator, director or officer in forms under the new Ontario Not-for-profit Corporations Act (“ONCA”), such as Articles of Incorporation (Form 5270E) and Notice of Change (Form 5284E), we suggest avoiding the listing of residential addresses where possible.

Some updated information the Ontario Public Guardian and Trustee relating to new Ontario Not-For-Profit Corporations (ONCA)

The Ontario PGT has recently put out some interesting information relating to the implementation of ONCA when it is a “charity” or “registered charity”. The most important takeaway relates to the extent that the PGT will be involved (or not involved) with reviewing corporate documents of charities.

BLUMBERGS’ COURSES

Blumbergs Online Courses

We have created some online courses on various charity law issues. These courses are meant to be easier to access, more convenient and available 24/7 exactly when needed. You can do an online course at your own pace and redo sections if you wish.

We have created various price points depending on the needs of the organization. We also will create bulk discount codes when courses are needed across the entire organization.

We also offer customized courses for different organizations depending on their needs. Some are focused on boards of directors, while others are focused on staff or volunteers. Let us know if your organization needs a customized or live online course.

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