Canadians recently marked the 35th anniversary of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Since it was enacted that document has profoundly altered the legal discourse – and the public’s perceptions – on many issues in Canadian law. Given this change, coupled with the centrality of free speech to the … [Read more...]
Charity Federal Regulatory Round-Up
As the charitable sector awaits an announcement from the federal government on when and how it will be responding to the Report to the Minister of National Revenue of the Consultation Panel on the Political Activities of Charities (the "Panel"), a couple of lower profile regulatory developments have … [Read more...]
What’s Fair?
One of the far corners of charity law is the fair market value of donations. For economists, the classic definition of fair market value is how much, in an open market, a knowledgeable, willing, and unpressured buyer would pay a knowledgeable, willing, and unpressured seller for a property. In the … [Read more...]
The “no gifts to non-qualified donees” rule
The registered charities provisions of the Income Tax Act (ITA) feature a number of obscure terms. That makes registered charities vulnerable to inadvertent non-compliance. It means prudent organizations need to keep a keen eye on regulatory trends and emerging issues. Looming regulatory concerns … [Read more...]
Innovation and the Charitable Sector
The merger of the Canadian Cancer Society and the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation announced on February 1, 2017 has been welcomed by many. The hope is that by joining forces the two organizations can have greater impact on cancer research and support programs. For those who lament the large … [Read more...]
For Charities, Partisanship Could be Dangerous Sailing
In the debate over the role of charities in the public policy process it is sometimes suggested that there ought to be no constraints on what political activity groups are allowed to undertake. Occasionally, commentators even assert charities should be allowed to participate in party … [Read more...]
Keeping at Arm’s Length
Recent events, particularly the controversy in Alberta over the dealings of Trinity Christian School Association and various people and organizations connected with the Association, make a review of the question of charities and non-arm’s length transactions timely. So that’s the subject of this … [Read more...]
Political Activities Update for Charities
The much-anticipated work on reviewing the guidance and rules around what political activities Canadian registered charities can undertake has now been begun. The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) recently announced that it will hold a consultation on that topic. The consultation will be both online and … [Read more...]
Prevention and Relief of Poverty
A couple of years ago, the refusal of the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) to allow Oxfam Canada to include prevention of poverty in its objects if it wanted to retain its status as a registered charity drew widespread press attention. The CRA took the position that relief or alleviation of poverty was … [Read more...]
Bad Scholarship?
Many years ago I played a small part in the unearthing of a controversial scholarship at the University of Toronto that was, among other things, restricted to white, Protestant candidates. It was called the Leonard Scholarship and dated from 1923. After being featured in a student newspaper of … [Read more...]