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 maximum advantage. This article lays […]
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 some cases, particularly for charities […]
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, the response did set out […]
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 the waters about the position […]
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 types of issues. In fact, […]
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 more than a decade since […]
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 a political charity) and although […]
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: ‘Twas the month before […]
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 the registration of a […]
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, Ontario Regulation 429/07 – Accessibility […]