News earlier this year of the mass resignation of the Board of the Ottawa Lions Club should come as no surprise to followers of recent developments in organizational governance. The resignations came in response to a report commissioned by Athletics Canada into the group’s handling of allegations of sexual harassment and abuse. The report didn’t […]
Ottawa situation highlights governance obligations in managing misconduct risks
July 4, 2019 By Peter Broder
Alberta Election Legislation and Charities
May 3, 2019 By Peter Broder
After years of turmoil around the topic, the federal government moved recently to reform treatment of charities’ “public policy dialogue and development activities”. The reform was, at least in part, in response to the striking down as unconstitutional of certain provisions of the Income Tax Act dealing with registered charities’ political activities. In a 2018 […]
Charities’ Political Activities Question Quieted, If Not Fully Resolved
March 5, 2019 By Peter Broder
The long tumult over registered charities’ role in public policy debate appears on the cusp of being resolved, or at least being significantly quieted, in the wake of three recent developments. First, in December, the federal government enacted legislation to amend the Income Tax Act (ITA) in response to a July 2018 Ontario Superior Court […]
Limits on Recourse for Donors Once a Gift is Made
January 3, 2019 By Peter Broder
It is an under-appreciated nuance of Canadian charity law that s. 92(7) of our Constitution actually gives the provinces the bulk of regulatory authority over charities. Provincial governments often don’t exercise their jurisdiction in this area, so the federal government’s Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) – which grants tax privileges to charitable groups – has become […]
Registered Charities and the Charter
August 31, 2018 By Peter Broder
Over the past twenty-five years or so, commentators have lamented the sometimes inordinate influence of tax policy considerations in the administration and adjudication of the federal registered charities regime. There is no doubt fiscal implications ought to be taken into account in structuring the legislative regime to ensure timely and appropriate use of the preferentially-treated […]
