The Ontario Not-for-Profit Corporations Act (the “ONCA”), received royal assent in October 2010. After nearly ten years, it has neither been proclaimed into force nor been given an official date to be proclaimed into force. This limbo state is sometimes referred to as being “unproclaimed”, as the bill has passed but there is no official […]
Charities – Part of the Great Underbanked?
Every so often the media reports that there are people in the world who do not have access to banking services, the so-called “underbanked”. For those of us in Canada, it is almost impossible to imagine such a situation, given the ubiquity of our banks and the plethora of services that they offer. However, for […]
Powers and Limits of an Executive Committee
By: Alexandra Tzannidakis It’s a very common practice, especially in organizations with larger boards, to have a subgroup of the directors form an executive committee that makes core decisions. But some caution must be exercised when deciding which powers to delegate to an executive committee – or indeed, to any subgroup of directors. Depending […]
New Ontario NFP Act Delayed… Again
By Tanya Carlton 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 […]
Extra-Provincial Registration for Charities and Not-for-Profits
By Tanya Carlton Charities and not-for-profits wishing to carry on activities in provinces other than that in which they were incorporated need to be aware of their obligations as extra-provincial corporations. This is especially true for corporations incorporated federally under the Canada Not-for-Profit Corporations Act (“CNCA”), as a determination must be made on whether or […]
What Can a Non-Profit Organization Pay Out to its Members?
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 not a ‘charity’, but is […]
Policy and Procedures in the Non Profit Sector
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 of universities in Canada having […]
New CRA Ruling on Making Loans to Foundations
New CRA Ruling on Making Loans to Foundations By Alexandra Tzannidakis, LL.B. In July of this year, the CRA issued a ruling around making loans to charitable foundations. The ruling was requested by a taxable corporation that had set up its own foundation, a registered charity. The corporation wanted to know what the tax consequence […]
Artists Triumph in Supreme Court
By Joel Secter Canadian visual artists celebrated on Sparks Street in Ottawa after their appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada was allowed from the bench on May 14, 2014.1 They have been embroiled in a legal dispute with the National Gallery of Canada (NGC) since negotiation of a scale agreement with the iconic institution […]
NPOs’ Internal Procedures are Subject to Judicial Review
NPOs’ Internal Procedures are Subject to Judicial Review By Alexandra Tzannidakis Within the microcosm of a not-for-profit organization, where internal bylaws and rules are generated and enforced by the organization itself, it can be easy to lose sight of the fact that there is always an external source of recourse in the form of judicial […]