Articles

In this article “CRA’s Consultation on Foreign Activities: What is New and Interesting with Canadian Charities Conducting Foreign Activities” I discuss what is new in the draft consultation.

In this article I discuss how Canadian charities can working with other Canadian or International Organizations that are not registered Canadian charities as long as they maintain direction and control of the Canadian resources.

So much is written about legal issues relating to charities in Canada. In this article I try to distill the ten most important things you need to know about charity law in Canada.

The title is self explanatory.  CRA’s website is a valuable resource for anyone involved with charities.  As a charity lawyer I am at the website daily and encourage others to make use of the material and information.

Charities, by virtue of their reputation and access to resources, in some cases make a tempting target for terrorists who are trying to acquire funds and/or legitimacy. Canadian charities need to be diligent in ensuring that their resources are used appropriately and not diverted to non-charitable uses, including terrorism. This article provides some basic guidance as to steps a Canadian charity can take to avoid having their resources misappropriated for terrorism or other inappropriate uses such as fraud.

Canadian Charities and Foreign Activities -This article published in The Philanthropist describes the permissible structured relationships and agreements, review a number of cases dealing with Canadian charities operating abroad, and highlight some of the challenges facing Canadian charities that have foreign activities.

32 ideas for managing risk with volunteers.

Most Canadian charities that lose their registered charity status have lost it for one reason - that is non-filing of the T3010 Registered Charity Information Return.

Canadian charities generally cannot just gift funds to foreign charities.  This article discusses appropriate direction and control over foreign activities and projects by Canadian charities. 

Here is my article on Canadian Private and Public Foundations and International Activities.  In this article I suggest 4 ways that Canadian Private and Public Foundations can carry on foreign charitable activities outside of Canada or assist with humanitarian relief or international development. 

Here is a copy of my presentation to the Canadian Association of Paralegals on Establishing a Canadian Non-Profit or Charity - Avoiding practical, legal and ethical problems.

This article discusses how Canadian charities can obtain legal services in a way that will not break the bank.  This is a big problem.  According to the T3010 statistics a majority of charities spend zero on professional services which services include legal and accounting services.  This is far from desirable if one thinks that accountability, transparency, good governance and compliance with the laws are important.

Here is my updated list of Top Ten Canadian charity law issues.  Although there are many important and interesting legal issues that Canadian charities face these are some the most important issues to focus on before getting lost in the charity law forest. 

This article will discuss the changes in the New 2008 T2050, Application to Register a Charity Under the Income Tax Act, and the guide T4063 Registering a Charity for Income Tax Purposes.

This article provides information and suggestions as to how a Canadian charity should, and should not, deal with CRA audits.  It also discusses possible CRA responses and the likelihood of each response. 

In this article I discuss the issue of whether Canada has too many charities or too few.  If one still wants to create a charity, some of the considerations and practical details of how one does establish a Canadian registered charity.