Charities – Articles Archives

 By Arthur B.C. Drache, CM, QC         Revocation is not the only way that charities can lose their registered status. The following comes from the web site of an organization which was a registered charity called Dying With Dignity: Dying with Dignity Canada (“DWD Canada”)has learned it will lose its ...

By Alexandra Tzannidakis A recent CRA ruling conveniently breaks down some of the rules about how a non-profit organization (NPO) may distribute its assets on dissolution. In this discussion, an NPO is specifically the kind of tax-exempt entity defined in paragraph 149(1)(l) of the Income Tax Act: one that is ...

By Mark S. Anshan Recent events in not-for-profit institutions and organizations have raised the critical issue of the procedures followed to resolve conflicts and situations where the interests of the institution need to be balanced with the rights of individuals. In the last several months we have seen a number ...

By Adam Aptowitzer One of the unstated pillars of gift planning is to find ways of assuring a donor that his/her wishes will be carried out after death. Unfortunately, this can be a double-edged sword. While it may help convince a donor to give now the future needs of a ...

By Joel Secter In anticipation of the Ontario Not-for-profit Corporations Act, 2010 (the “new Act”), many Ontario not-for-profit corporations established by letters patent under the Corporations Act (the “old Act”) have turned their minds to reviewing their by-laws. Some have even gone so far as to adopt new by-laws for ...

By Tanya L. Carlton CRA recently released a new and updated Info Sheet (GI-037) on how the GST/HST applies to children’s camps operated by public sector bodies. This Info Sheet applies to all public sector bodies including governments, charities, non-profit organizations, municipalities, universities, public colleges, school authorities and hospital authorities ...

By Arthur B.C. Drache, CM, QC A recent ruling letter 1 from the CRA highlighted what for most is an obscure provisions of the Income Tax Act which related to gifts of ecological property. Section 207.31 of the Act imposes a tax on any charity, municipality in Canada or municipal or ...

By C. Yvonne Chenier, Q.C. The wrong words in a document such as a will, or an estate administration misunderstanding in today’s legislative environment could cause problems for charities. Although I was one of the early members of the planned giving “allied professionals” network in the 1990’s and have spoken ...

By Karen J. Cooper The Income Tax Act provides favorable treatment for gifts of ecologically sensitive land, and partial interests in land through the Ecological Gifts Program (EGP). This treatment includes an elimination of taxable capital gains realized on the disposition of ecologically sensitive land and the provision of a ...

By Joel Secter Even the most seasoned volunteer directors are advised to familiarize themselves with the rules under the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act (CNCA). While this brief article only covers certain aspects of the law governing federal not-for-profits, it does highlight a few important aspects in the lifecycle of a ...

By Alexandra Tzannidakis GST/HST is a complicated enough topic in general, but for charities the rules are different again. This means that even if you have someone on the board who is familiar with the GST/HST basics, your charity may still not be navigating the system correctly or to its ...

By Adam Aptowitzer The current conflagration about charities and their involvement in political advocacy is focused on worries about whether the law is being fairly applied to all organizations. Specifically organizations with a perspective contrary to the current government’s policies feel that they are the subject of a conspiracy. In ...

By Arthur B.C. Drache, CM, QC The CRA recently published its response1 to a letter asking about the treatment of “gift cards” which apparently were received by an individual from a charity…though details were not given. But while the answer probably was not of a lot of help to the individual, ...

By Adam Aptowitzer Volunteering for a charity can be a rewarding way to help out in the community but it can bring with it a number of legal responsibilities. Legal responsibility is often assigned on the basis of the role an individual serves within an organization. Volunteering, though, can muddy ...

By Joel Secter On the heels of Jian Ghomeshi’s firing from the CBC and the suspension of two Liberal MPs from caucus, Canadians are talking about sexual harassment. Although not a topic that is typically associated with the philanthropic sector, charities and non-profits are not immune from dealing with these ...

By Arthur B.C. Drache CM QC  It is more for the record that we report on the most recent failure of an organization to get registered as a charity and to have that rejection upheld by the Federal Court of Appeal. The organization, Humanics Institute,1 despite knowing that it has been ...

By Alexandra Tzannidakis In the public mind, the idea of tax credits for giving to ‘good causes’ sometimes leads to confusion and conflation of charitable tax credits and political tax credits. The truth is that charities and political causes are legally very distinct concepts (there is no such thing as ...

By C. Yvonne Chenier QC If I had time to dream at this time of the year, I would certainly conjure up the kind of vision found in a certain famous Christmas poem originally attributed to an anonymous author in the 1800s. My 2014 version would go something like this: ...

By Adam Aptowitzer It should go without saying that the system for charity regulation in Canada is extremely complex. Part of the reason for this situation is that the system is essentially part of a larger one dedicated to the imposition of an income tax. Typically this is seen in ...

 By Mark S Anshan   In adopting a policy that will include practices and procedures setting out how goods and services will be provided to people with disabilities (a requirement under the Act), reviewing and adopting the elements set out in the Ontario government regulation enacted pursuant to the Act, ...

By Yvonne Chenier Q.C. The social enterprise movement is gaining momentum in the non-profit and charitable sectors. There are frequently articles in the popular news about “successful” not-for-profits expanding their activities to include revenue generating activities. There are enterprises like the old standby enterprise of selling used clothes and goods, ...

By Tanya Carlton The Ontario Court of Appeal recently released its judgment in Pankerichan v. Djokic, 2014 ONCA 709, which involved a church property dispute between members of an unincorporated Serbian Orthodox Church in Hamilton and the Bishop and Diocesan Council members of the Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Canada. The ...

By Karen J. Cooper With the increase interest and involvement in social enterprise and other revenue-generating activities, charities are often unsure whether such revenue-generating activities requires them to collect and remit HST, similar to the for-profit sector. The following article discusses how HST affects charities, and specifically how HST affects ...

 By Arthur B. C Drache   These days there are likely few charities which do not have a web site which gives information about the organization, tells about its charitable objectives and often is a vehicle for fund-raising. But as important as the web site is, it is crucial that one ...

Drache Aptowitzer LLP has been selected by their peers for inclusion in the Ninth Edition of Best Lawyers in Canada in the practice area of Trusts and Estates. To see the full announcement please click here.   ...