By Arthur B.C. Drache, CM, QC One of the most contentious pieces of legislation recently was a private member’s bill, Bill C-377, which required what we believe to be hugely intrusive public reporting by labour organizations. The legislation was so contentious that event the Senate, controlled by the Harper Conservatives, initially amended the bill to […]
By Adam Aptowitzer Planned giving has been an issue of interest to the charitable sector for several years. The enthusiasm by which the sector has taken up the discussion has permeated the donor community. As a result donations by will are a common occurrence. But if the donor does not monitor developments with the charity […]
Now that we have a new federal government in Canada, one may wonder what they will do with the elephant in the room in the not for profit and charitable sector – social enterprise. As has been pointed out before in this newsletter and elsewhere, even though the provincial governments by virtue of our Canadian […]
(Note: The following discussion is based on the common law and applies to all provinces except Québec, which is governed by the Civil Code of Québec). Employment agreements play an important role in any employer-employee relationship, even in charitable and not-for-profit organizations. Without a properly drafted employment agreement an organization can find itself in a […]
By Arthur B.C. Drache, CM, QC The stunning majority mandate achieved by the Liberal party in the October 19 election means that there will be a lot of attention paid to promises made by the party during the election. While we mentioned these at various times in the past few issues, a reminder is in order […]
By Adam Aptowitzer We have written recently about the proposed rules for donating the proceeds from the sale of real estate and private shares (click here to read it). While this provision is the response to much sensible lobbying by some parties in the sector it does not come without side effects. In particular, there […]
The off and on clothing trend called “Matchy Matchy” is seen as wearing an outfit that goes together too well making it looked forced and stylish. Something similar may very well be underway again at the Government of Canada with the Syria Emergency Relief Fund recently announced by Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada. On […]
On September 17, 2015, the Ontario Ministry of Government and Consumer Services quietly posted an update on its website in regards to the implementation of the Not-for-Profit- Corporations Act, 2010 (“ONCA”), the new governing legislation for charities and not-for-profits incorporated in Ontario. The ONCA has now been languishing in the legislature for the last five […]
The basic organizational elements that inform how for profits and non profits function, evaluate and improve their operations should essentially be the same. Non profits operate as “businesses” with many of the same attributes as for profit organizations – budgets, staffing, governance, planning, accountability to name but a few. Accordingly, non profits can benefit from […]
A recent decision of the Tax Court of Canada serves as a reminder that not all land is held by a donor on account of capital and that the tax consequences of a particular gift may not be obvious. In Staltari v. The Queen (2015 TCC 123), the Tax Court of Canada considered a donation by […]