By: Kara Johnson On April 13, 2017 the Supreme Court of Canada granted, to the Judicial Committee of the Highwood Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Highwood Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses, leave to appeal the Alberta Court of Appeal’s decision on the availability of judicial review over their disfellowshipping of Mr. Randy Wall. As […]
Doing the Right Thing
By: Adam Aptowitzer We usually use this space to advise readers on how best to comply with the law, changes in the law, or propose changes in the law. However, CBC reporting on various connections the accounting firm KPMG has with senior members of the tax community – including judges – compels a response. […]
Last Call for Transition to the CNCA
By: Sukhdeep Singh Sembi If your corporation is a not-for-profit or charity and has been incorporated under the Canada Corporations Act Part II (“CCA II”), be sure to double check if you have been ‘continued’ under the Canada Not-for-Profit-Corporations Act (CNCA). The deadline, July 31, 2017 is fast approaching for corporations incorporated under the […]
CRA Draws Attention to CRM
By: C. Yvonne Chenier The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) Charities Directorate has recently created a webpage discussing the involvement of charities in the practice of cause-related marketing (CRM).[1] The message on this new webpage zeros in on the benefit to the for-profit partner if the charity is considering issuing a receipt for a donation. Previously, […]
Rectifying Rectification – The Supreme Court Goes Back to Basics in Fairmont Hotels
By: Adam Aptowitzer The recent Supreme Court of Canada decision in Canada v. Fairmont Hotels Inc.[1] is of interest to the entire legal community but of perhaps particular importance in the tax world. The case dealt with the concept of rectification – usually only examined in detail in the first year of law school. Rectification […]
Reimbursing Volunteer Expenses: Opportunities and Pitfalls
By: Arthur B. C. Drache It is very common that volunteers and board members of charities lay out funds in support of the organization’s activities. It may be to pay for gas while driving clients of the charity to travel and accommodation expenses to attend board meetings away from one’s own city. In […]
Getting “Giving” is Getting Harder
(Declining Donations: What It Means for Charities) By: Mark S. Anshan (Beggar) “Alms for the poor, alms for the poor…” (Lazar) “Here, Reb Nahum, is one kopek.” (Beggar) “One kopek? Last week you gave me two kopeks.” (Lazar) “I had a bad week.” (Beggar) “So, if you had a bad week, why should I […]
2016 Updates from Corporations Canada and What it Means for NFPs
By: Sukhdeep Singh Sembi This past month Corporations Canada hosted their annual Client Engagement Session in Ottawa, where their senior staff conversed with members of the public. Their annual meeting aimed to update the private sector on their activities of the year past, highlighting important successes, problem areas and prospective changes in the administration of […]
Head in the Cloud, and Books and Records on the Ground
By: Kara Johnson If someone asked you “where” your cloud storage is, would you know the answer? The “cloud” is the common term used when data is stored remotely but yet accessible (to your multiple devices) through the internet. Given that the data is now ‘remote’ we often receive questions from clients as to […]
Community Interest Corporations and Community Contribution Companies
By: Sukhdeep Singh Sembi As our readers know the new government has taken steps to revamp the restrictions on political activities by charities, by dismantling the political activities audit program and by promising a new approach following consultation with the public and members of the charities industry. It is important however to note that […]