Blumbergs’ Canadian Charity Law List - January 2012

FEATURED

1) Being Good at Doing Good 2012 in Toronto - Feb 13 and 14 - you don’t want to miss this conference

We have about 185 people registered for the Being Good at Doing Good conference on February 13 and 14, 2012 organized by the Charity Law Information Program.  Not surprising in light of the excellent speakers.  Here is the website with information on speakers and registration: http://www.clipconference.wildapricot.org/  There will be many great presenters including Kevin Donovan of the Toronto Star, Louis Lerner, Head of the Tax Exempt Section of the IRS and representatives from CRA, the Charities Commission of England and Wales and many other experts on charity governance, financial management and compliance. 


2) Receipting Kit for Canadian Registered Charities launched by the Charity Law Information Program

The Charity Law Information Program (CLIP) has just released the Receipting Kit for Canadian Registered Charities. The kit is 25 pages and provides an overview of what a registered charity needs to generally know about receipting. As well, there is an attachment which is about 115 pages long with CRA guidance on receipting and even a CRA auditor checklist on receipting.

3) Canadian Charities and Free Transparency Tools - look before you donate

There are a couple of interesting websites which allow much easier searching of information from the T3010 databases.  One is CharityFocus.ca (discussed by me here).  Another interesting website is http://www.opencharity.ca.  Opencharity.ca allows for visitors to search not only by charity name but also directors name.

4) CRA letters to Canadian registered charities when revocation for cause

For a number of years CRA has been aggressively targeting charities that are involved with abusive tax shelter schemes or in serious non-compliance with their legal obligations under the Income Tax Act. In some cases CRA puts out a news release but that only provides a small amount of detail as to the concerns of the regulator.  Anyone can request from CRA copies of letters sent by the Charities Directorate to a charity which provide a lot more detailed information.  Here are copies of news releases and more importantly in some cases the letters from CRA to the charity.


THE CLIP CONFERENCE “BEING GOOD AT DOING GOOD


5) Being Good at Doing Good 2012 in Toronto - Feb 13 and 14

There will be another two day Being Good at Doing Good conference on February 13 and 14, 2012 organized by the Charity Law Information Program on charity governance, financial management and compliance. Here is the registration page: http://www.clipconference.wildapricot.org/ The conference is “Doing Good” at registrations with over 185 people signed up so far.


6) Alice Holt from Charity Commission of England and Wales will be speaking in Toronto in February

Alice Holt, the Head of Legal Services for the London office of the Charity Commission of England and Wales will be speaking at CLIP “Being Good at Doing Good” Conference in Toronto. We are delighted to have Alice join us.


7) Ken Berger, head of the US watchdog “Charity Navigator” will be speaking in Toronto

Ken Berger, the President & Chief Executive Officer, of the US charity watch dog group Charity Navigator will be speaking at the CLIP conference “Being Good at Doing Good” on the subject of “The Battle for Transparency in the Non-Profit Sector”.


8) IRS is coming to Toronto - head of IRS Tax Exempt division will be speaking in Toronto

Lois G. Lerner, the Director of the Exempt Organizations Division of the Internal Revenue Service will be speaking at the CLIP Conference. http://www.clipconference.wildapricot.org/ As head of the Exempt Organizations Division she is responsible for the regulation of US charities or exempt organizations including registration, education, and compliance. She will be giving two presentations - one focusing on why regulators care about governance and the second on top compliance issues for US charities. We will also have speakers from the CRA and Charity Commission of England and Wales and other experts in charity governance, financial controls and compliance.


9) Investigative Reporter Kevin Donovan of the Toronto Star to Speak at CLIP Conference

The Toronto Star’s Investigative Reporter Kevin Donovan, who frequently covers the charitable sector, will be presenting at the CLIP conference.  Increasingly the media has been focusing on charities and certain hot button issues. Those involved with charity governance, financial management and communications will find his comments very useful.




COMPLIANCE AND MISUSE OF CHARITY RESOURCES



10) Natalie Worsfold Blog on GLGI very interesting with copies of court documents

Ontario tax litigator, Natalie Worsfold, has an interesting blog called “Trouble with Taxes”. She has a page on the GLGI gifting arrangement. Of particular note is the lengthy PDF of court documents.


11) CRA revokes two more charities for involvement in charity tax schemes

The CRA has revoked for cause “Word of Christ Ministry” and “Hope Church of God Deliverance Ministries” for involvement in promoted charity schemes.

12) National Post article “Judge OKs suit against charity tax ‘scheme’”

On January 23, 2012 the National Post published an article entitled “Judge OKs suit against charity tax ‘scheme’” by Joseph Brean which discusses a class action lawsuit against various parties relating to the “Donations for Canada Gift Program”.


13) Banyan Tree Class Action Lawsuit Receives court approval - defendants pay 11+ million

The first class action lawsuit involving what CRA terms an “abusive charity gifting tax scheme” has settled at a Settlement and Class Counsel Fee Approval Hearing that was held on January 17, 2012 in Toronto. The material for that hearing is on the Scarfone Hawkins website and is quite interesting reading providing lots of interesting details about the scheme.



WHAT’S NEW FROM FINANCE AND CRA


14) 2011 Canadian Federal Budget passes - new provisions affecting charities and RCAAAs in force


The 2011 Federal Budget received Royal Assent on December 16, 2011. There were a number of changes that affect charities, RCAAAs and other types of qualified donees that were in the budget.


15) CRA releases Charity Connection No. 11 - January 2012 - Special Edition: Budget 2011

The CRA has published Charity Connection No. 11 on the 2011 Federal Budget. The publication highlights some of the major changes for registered charities, RCAAAs and other qualified donees. There will be more information on certain other budgetary provisions in the near future such as the “ineligible individual” provisions.


16) CRA revises Pamphlet “Gifts and Income Tax P113(E) Rev. 11” to reflect recent budget changes

The CRA has revised its Pamphlet “Gifts and Income Tax P113(E) Rev. 11” to reflect recent budget changes including reducing the incentives for packaged flow through donation schemes and other provisions from the 2011 Federal Budget.


17) Municipal and public bodies performing a function of government in Canada - will need to apply

The CRA will be preparing a list of “Municipal and public bodies performing a function of government in Canada” which are essentially certain First Nations bands or groups who perform certain government functions. These “Municipal and public bodies performing a function of government in Canada” are qualified donees and can issue official donation receipts for gifts to them. CRA has noted on their website: “As a result of Budget 2011, municipal and public bodies performing a function of government in Canada must apply to be added to a list maintained by the CRA to become or continue to be qualified donees. We are currently developing the process by which these bodies must apply. Meanwhile, municipal and public bodies performing a function of government continue to be qualified donees until the application process is finalized. At that time, these bodies will have to apply to maintain this status.” As new information becomes available we will post it on our website.


18) CRA’s Annual Report to Parliament for 2010-2011

Here is the CRA’s Annual Report to Parliament for 2010-2011.  It is 173 pages long.  There are a number of references to charities which I have highlighted.



CROSS-BORDER CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES


19) Recent CRA’s Foreign Activity Guidance Presentation by Mark Blumberg

Here is a copy of a recent presentation on CRA’s Foreign Activity Guidance that I presented to World Vision’s Law Day.


20) So how much do Canadian charities receive from foreign sources according to the T3010 Returns?

There has been a little political firestorm recently over US foundations funding of certain Canadian environmental charities. So how much revenue actually comes to Canada from foreign countries including the US? The answer seems to be about $831 million. That is from Line 4575 “Total revenue received from all sources outside Canada”. If you are interested in who got what then read on.


21) “Foes of Northern Gateway pipeline fear revocation of charitable status” - Globe and Mail article

In a Globe and Mail article entitled “Foes of Northern Gateway pipeline fear revocation of charitable status” there is a discussion of recent issues raised about foreign funding on Canadian charities and political activities of Canadian charities.


22) CRA letters to Canadian Foundation for Tamil Refugee Rehabilitation before revocation

Here are copies of the letters from the Charities Directorate of the CRA to the Canadian Foundation for Tamil Refugee Rehabilitation.


23) CIDA announces funding for 53 Canadian partnerships in international development - $142 million

Minister of International Cooperation, Bev Oda, announced on December 23, 2011 the results of the Call for Proposals process of the Partnerships with Canadian branch. 53 organizations received about $142 million in total commitments.


24) CRA releases list of prescribed universities outside Canada in easy to find format

There are a few hundred foreign universities (ie. universities outside of Canada) that can issue Canadian official donation receipts and are therefore “qualified donees” similar to registered charities. The list of these universities was hidden on page 1550 of a regulation to the Income Tax Act. Now the list will be more easy to access on the Charities Directorate’s website.



TRANSPARENCY


25) Charity Focus from Imagine Canada - a helpful tool to analyze Canadian charities

Imagine Canada will be officially launching its Charity Focus website soon. You can review the website at http://www.charityfocus.ca/ Charity Focus presents the T3010 information in a more user friendly fashion than the current CRA website and it will also include other information uploaded by charities.


26) ‘Charity rankings often don’t tell the full story’ - by Katherine Van Kooy in the Calgary Herald

Here is a great piece by Katherine Van Kooy in the Calgary Herald entitled ‘Charity rankings often don’t tell the full story’. Katherine van Kooy is the president and CEO of the Calgary Chamber of Voluntary Organizations (CCVO).


27) CRA releases list of Canadian municipalities that are qualified donees + can issue donation receipts

Canadian municipalities can issue official donation receipts similar to registered charities. Sometimes it is not clear whether a group is considered to be a municipality. In the past you would have to call CRA or write to them to verify whether a township, town, county, etc. was a municipality. As a result of changes in the 2011 Federal Budget, CRA was allowed to release a list of municipalities. The list is prepared by province. Currently the municipalities are all listed as of 2012-01-01. If a municipality is involved with inappropriate conduct like issuing incorrect receipts they can be suspended or delisted. Municipalities need to be careful about how they issue receipts.


28) Article “Greater transparency needed in China’s charity sector”

Here is an interesting article on transparency in the Chinese charitable sector. “Charities will lose public credibility without transparency,” said one researcher. It is interesting to note that in one scandal involving the Red Cross Society of China (RCSC), the ” the scandal led to an 86.6-percent drop in donations to national charity organizations over the following six months”. It appears that the Chinese government is taking steps to bring in greater transparency.


29) Who and what are Registered National Arts Services Organization (RNASO) in Canada?

There are 24 Registered National Arts Services Organization (RNASO) in Canada and here is the list from the CRA Charities Listing database.


30) CRA publishes list of registered Canadian amateur athletic associations (RCAAAs)

The CRA has published a list of registered Canadian amateur athletic associations (RCAAAs). Very interesting to see the names of RCAAAs and also those that were deregistered over the last few years. There are currently about 119 RCAAAs. CRA was only allowed to publish this list after changes introduced in the 2011 Federal budget to increase transparency in the charity/qualified donee sector.




GENERAL


31) Consultation on Strengthening Canada’s Anti-Money Laundering and Anti Terrorist Financing Regime

On December 21, 2011 the Department of Finance announced a consultation on “updating Canada’s regime for combating money laundering and terrorist financing.” They also put out a consultation paper, “Strengthening Canada’s Anti-Money Laundering and Anti Terrorist Financing Regime,” which contains a number of proposals, a couple of which relate to charities. The deadline for submitting comments is March 1, 2012. The two proposals relating to charities are pretty minor - first for the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) to share information with CRA Charities Directorate on seizure reports when they seize forfeited currency. Second, the Financial Transactions Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (“Fintrac”) already provides disclosure to CRA but such disclosure may be more proactive. These recommendations will facilitate the Charities Directorate having greater awareness of potential money laundering or terrorist activities that could potentially involve charities.

32) StatsCan stats on charity sector interesting - but notes even more interesting

StatsCan recently published some statistics on charitable donations.  They noted “Canadian taxfilers reported making charitable donations of just under $8.3 billion in 2010, up 6.5% from 2009. At the same time, the number of donors increased 2.2% to just over 5.7 million. Data are based on income tax returns filed for 2010.”  That is a bit of a good news story and shows that many Canadians who have jobs feel quite lucky and are generally digging into their pockets more.  What is more interesting than the statistics are the caveats and notes. 


Notes

Upcoming Events

On February 13 and 14, 2012 I will be chairing the upcoming CLIP Conference ‘Being Good at Doing Good’ http://www.clipconference.wildapricot.org 

On February 9, 2012, I will be delivering a webinar on “Successfully funding First Nations communities in Canada in compliance with CRA guidance” with The Circle on Philanthropy and Aboriginal Peoples in Canada, Canadian Environmental Grantmakers’ Network and the Charity Law Information Program.

I will be lecturing and co-leading the Federated Press conference on “Tax-Effective Planning for Insurance & Investments Course” on February 28 & 29, 2012.  I will be presenting on “Tax Effective Giving and the Use of Private Foundations” including factors to consider before establishing a private foundations and alternatives to private foundations and the process, requirements and costs of establishing a private foundation.  The conference registration information is at: http://www.federatedpress.com/pdf/CEC/TEPT1202-E.pdf

In early April I will be co-presenting o the AFP International Conference in Vancouver on “Fundraising Compliance and Ethical Issues for Canadian Registered Charities”. 

Past Events


I delivered CLIP seminars in recently in London and Mississauga.  For a full list of places CLIP did seminars see: http://ow.ly/6xnJu
 
I also did a number of workshops on charity compliance and recent legal developments for the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario as well as the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Alberta.



OTHER LINKS


Here are some recent links:
SMARTGIVING.CA - in time for the holiday season
List of Canadian Charities Revoked for Cause over the last five years
Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act (CNCA) Suitcase
Draft receipting kit for Canadian charities that issue receipts along with CRA receipting policies
Budget 2011 and new “ineligible individual” category:  How this can affect your charity
Blumbergs Charity Checklist


I hope that you found the above material helpful and please feel free to forward the e-mail newsletter to anyone you think may be interested. They can also sign up for the BLUMBERGS non-profit and charities law newsletter at http://www.canadiancharitylaw.ca/index.php/pages/subscribe/

For further information on legal resources for Canadian Non-Profits and Charities please visit www.canadiancharitylaw.ca or www.globalphilanthropy.ca

If you use Twitter you might want to follow me at:  http://twitter.com/canadiancharity 

If you want general information on registered charities in Canada you might find the archived webinars that were prepared for the Charity Law Information Program (CLIP) of Capacity Builders helpful http://www.globalphilanthropy.ca/index.php/blog/comments/webinars_on_canadian_charity_law_-_charity_law_information_program_clip_by_/

If you would like to retain our law firm for legal services or legal advice with respect to non-profits or charities, please contact me at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or at 416-361-1982.


Mark Blumberg

—————————————————————————————
Mark Blumberg, B.A., LL.B., LL.M., TEP

Blumberg Segal LLP
Barristers & Solicitors
390 Bay Street, Suite 1202
Toronto, Ontario, M5H2Y2

Tel. (416) 361-1982 ext. 237
Toll Free 1-866-961-1982
Fax. (416) 363-8451
Email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

www.canadiancharitylaw.ca
www.globalphilanthropy.ca

You can follow me on Twitter at:  http://twitter.com/canadiancharity
—————————————————————————————

Web version.

Blumbergs Canadian Charity Law List - October 2011

FEATURED

1) Industry Canada announces that on Monday October 17, 2011 Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act (CNCA) will come into force

The long awaited Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act (CNCA) will come into force on October 17, 2011.  Until October 16, 2011 the current legislation (the Canada Corporations Act) can be used for incorporation but as of October 17, 2011 only the new CNCA can be used for incorporation of Federal non-profits.  If you are incorporated under the old act you will have 3 years to move to the new act.  Under the old CCA, CCA corporations will still for 3 years be able to amend by-laws, obtain supplementary letters patent, file an annual summary or surrender the corporation’s charter.  At Blumbergs we will be busy helping organizations incorporate under the new CNCA and also transition/continue from the old act to the new act.  While one does not require legal assistance with incorporation or transition for many organizations that are charities or have more complicated governance structures they may find legal assistance helpful. 

2) Upcoming Charity Law Information Program seminars with Mark Blumberg

Here are some upcoming CLIP Seminars across Canada which will discuss fundraising compliance, receipting rules and a little bit on the recent Federal Budget and the new CNCA.  Further dates and places will be added shortly.  CLIP is a project of Capacity Builders and receives funding from the Charities Directorate of the Canada Revenue Agency.

3) Failure to control and document use of charity funds can lead to serious problems

Here is an interesting report involving a UK charity with many lessons that can be learned by Canadian charities.  The UK charity raised money for the Tsunami in 2004 and the Pakistan earthquake in 2005.  In 2006 allegations in the media that the UK charity was involved with supporting terrorism.  The Charity Commission of UK and Wales spent a number of year investigating.  “The Inquiry concluded that from the information examined, there was no evidence to indicate that the trustees diverted charitable funds for unlawful or non-charitable purposes. However, the Commission concluded that the trustees were unable to satisfactorily verify the end use of charitable funds in both Indonesia and Pakistan. It found that the measures taken to control, monitor and document the use of charitable funds by third parties overseas were insufficient. This prevented the charity’s trustees from being able to demonstrate that those funds had been used legitimately and in furtherance of the charity’s purposes.”  “The report provides various lessons for the wider charity sector which trustees are encouraged to read. The lessons include the steps which trustees should take to put safeguards in place to mitigate the risk of charitable funds being used unlawfully. This is particularly important for charities working overseas and potentially working through partners. The report provides important advice on trustee responsibilities in financial management and the supervision of overseas activities, and the importance of charities having effective governance where all trustees are aware of their responsibilities in terms of setting polices, decision making, and ensuring the charity is run in line with its governing document and general law.” 

4) Draft receipting kit for Canadian charities that issue receipts along with CRA receipting policies

The Charity Law Information Program (CLIP) will be putting together a 25 page receipting kit which will explain the most important information that a registered charity needs to understand about receipting.  In addition it will have a 120 reference tool with all the CRA policies on receipting.  If you wish to review a draft and provide feedback you can see the draft on our website.

5) Budget 2011 and new “ineligible individual” category:  How this can affect your charity

Here is my article Budget 2011 and new “ineligible individual” category: How this can affect your Canadian registered charity.

6) Statistics on the Canadian charitable sector from the Canada Revenue Agency, Charities Directorate

The Charities Directorate has recently released statistical information obtained from the T3010 Registered Charity Information Return.  It paints an interesting portrait of the Canadian charitable sector. 

7) Blumbergs Charity Checklist

What is new is not always most important.  Here is a charity checklist that may be helpful for boards to keep on top of the most important compliance issues.  It has been recently updated and is available in PDF.




FOREIGN ACTIVITIES

8) Canadians donated $70 million to East Africa famine relief

According to the Globe and Mail “Canadians contributed $70-million to East Africa famine relief, a figure that will be matched by the Harper government. This brings the total government response to $142-million – $70-million in matching funds and $72.35-million that was provided earlier for humanitarian efforts in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia, where more than 13 million people are affected by a devastating drought.”  The matching funds are provided to Canadian charities that have the best plans and experience to operate in the region, not necessarily the organization that raised the most funds.

9) Canadian government announces “Projects under the Muskoka Initiative Partnership Program”

On September 20, 2011 Prime Stephen Harper announced a list of projects that will receive funding under the Muskoka Initiative Partnership Program.

10) Canadian charities spending on foreign activities rises by 16% in 2009 from 2008

In 2009, according to the CRA and its T3010 data, Canadian charities spent $2.9 billion outside of Canada.

11) 10 Steps to Foreign Contractors carrying out work for Canadian charities - a simplified view

Here is a brief note entitled Foreign Contractors of Canadian Registered Charities Carrying out the Canadian Charity’s Projects – A Very Simplified View of the Process.

12) Why does Brad Pitt give to charity?

Here is a short note quoting Brad Pitt on why he gives to charity.  It is quite interesting. 

13) Which Universities Outside of Canada are qualified donees and “prescribed universities”?

Here is a note on “Which Universities Outside of Canada are prescribed universities under Schedule VIII of the Income Tax Act (Canada) and therefore qualified donees?”  This list is difficult to find on the Federal government website.

14) New qualified donee “The Rhodes Trust – Public Purposes Fund” added to IC84-3R

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has updated “Attachment to IC84-3R, Gifts to Certain Charitable Organizations Outside Canada” to add The Rhodes Trust – Public Purposes Fund based in the UK.  This is effective as of December 15, 2010.




COMPLIANCE AND ABUSE

15) Globe and Mail article “Lawyers targeted over charity tax schemes”

The Globe and Mail published an article “Lawyers targeted over charity tax schemes” dealing with a number of class-action lawsuits against Canadian law firms over legal opinions.

16) “A crazy tale of tax fraud” article in Financial Post by Jamie Golombek

Here is an interesting article by Jamie Golombek entitled “A crazy tale of tax fraud”.  Unfortunately these types of unsophisticated schemes cost hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars.  They are referred to as receipting fraud. 

17) Dangerous Opinions – Legal and Ethical Issues with Legal Opinions on Charity Law and the ITA

Here is an archived webinar that was originally recorded on March 23, 2011 entitled “Dangerous Opinions – Legal and Ethical Issues with Legal Opinions on Charity Law and the Income Tax Act” with David Thompson from Scarfone Hawkins LLP.  Mr. Thompson is a class action lawyer who has launched the Banyan Tree Foundation lawsuit and more recently the class action in the case of Redeemer University and its forgivable loan program.

18) Chronicle of Philanthropy deals with valuation of drugs for development and misuse of valuation

The Chronicle of Philanthropy has published a lengthy article by Caroline Preston entitled “Multiple Methods of Valuing Drugs Create an Unclear Picture of Aid Totals”.  It covers a number of important issues for both Canadian and US charities who either receive pharmaceutical donations or who purchase pharmaceuticals to use in developing nations.

19) Class Action against Redeemer University College for Forgivable Loan Program

In March 2011 a $6 million dollar claim was launched against Redeemer Foundation and Redeemer University College in relation to their “Forgivable Loan Program”.  CRA disallowed certain years of the program.  We have covered the Redeemer University on this blog in its unsuccessful fight against CRA that went all the way to the Supreme Court.  By my count this is the 5th class action lawsuit against a Canadian charity for issuing allegedly inappropriate official donation receipts.  None of the allegations have yet been proven in court. 

20) More Third Party Penalties upcoming against individuals and Canadian charities

I requested from CRA information about the status of Third Party Penalties (TPP).  Some Third Party Penalties are applied to individuals (who are involved with charities) and some to the registered charity itself. 

21) The Valuation Law Review - Vol 17 Issue 2 September 2011 Taxation Decisions - Marechaux, Lemberg etc

Here is a copy of The Valuation Law Review - Vol 17 Issue 2 September 2011 Taxation Decisions. It is published by The Canadian Institute of Chartered Business Valuators (CICBV).  In this edition it discusses various cases including Marechaux, Lemberg, Lockie, Innovative Gifting and Russell and we have been able to reproduce the whole journal with the permission of the CICBV.  The editor is Dennis Turnbull, CBV.

22) F. Max E. Maréchaux v. Her Majesty the Queen - court documents shed light on case

As noted on this blog in June of this year the Supreme Court of Canada denied leave to appeal in the case of F. Max E. Maréchaux v. Her Majesty the Queen.  It is an important case dealing with what CRA terms “abusive charity gifting tax schemes”.

23) CRA nixes private share donation transaction and revokes 4 charities involved

Here are letters from the CRA on a private share donation transaction in which CRA revoked the status of the 4 registered charities involved.



WHAT’S NEW WITH CRA

24) CRA announces 2011 Charities Information Sessions

The CRA has announced the date and time of the 2011 Charities Information Sessions that CRA is offering.

25) CRA updates note on qualified donees under the Income Tax Act (Canada)

Here is a CRA note on what is a qualified donee. If you are involved with governance or management of a charity it is important to understand what is a qualified donee because registered charities can make gifts to qualified donees but registered charities cannot make gifts to “non-qualified donees”. If a registered charity makes a gift to a non-qualified donee it could faces penalties and revocation.

26) CRA updates note on what is confidential versus public information for registered charities

The Charities Directorate on August 15, 2011 put out a note CG-008 - Confidentiality – Public Information Guidance which discusses the circumstances in which the CRA can divulge information about a charity. What most people don’t realize is that the confidentiality provisions of the Income Tax Act (s. 241) preclude CRA from disclosing almost anything about a charity other than the application and T3010 public filings until after such charity has been revoked. So for example in the extreme case if a charity is involved with a $500 million dollar fraud CRA is forbidden to say anything until after revocation which could be years afterwards. There are only a small number of charities doing really bad things and I personally believe that the public has a right to know more about these few charities. The interesting thing is that the situation is even worse with non-profits that are not registered charities who we can find out almost no publicly accessible information. So here is the CRA note on the charity confidentiality provisions and at the bottom is a Pre-Budget Submission from our law firm to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance dealing with the issue of transparency.

27) CRA provides guidance on donation of Gift Certificates or Gift Cards to Canadian charities

The CRA has just issued a revised guidance on “Donation of Gift Certificates or Gift Cards Guidance”.  This guidance replaces Policy Statement CPS-018, Donations of Gift Certificates.  Gift certificates and gift cards are frequently donated to charities but can the charity issue a tax receipt?  Well it depends.

28) CRA Guidance “Promotion of Animal Welfare and Charitable Registration” for Canadian Charities

The CRA on August 22, 2011 published their Guidance CG-011, Promotion of Animal Welfare and Charitable Registration.  CRA had completed and public consultation and here is the revised guidance.

29) Legislative Proposals Relating to the ITA released August 16, 2011

The Dept. of Finance has released some Legislative Proposals Relating to the ITA on August 16, 2011. These proposals deal with implementing the June 2011 budget proposals which include a number of proposals to prevent abuse of charities and RCAAAs.

30) CRA letter on whether cooperative is tax exempt under 149(1)(l) of the Act

Here is a CRA letter on whether a particular cooperative in Canada is tax exempt under s.149(1)(l) of the Act

31) CRA Charities Connection No. 8 - receipting, East Africa Drought Relief Fund and PM volunteer awards

The Charities Directorate of CRA has just put Charities Connection No. 8.  It discusses receipting, the East Africa Drought Relief Fund and the PM’s volunteer awards.

32) Charities Directorate service standards for telephone inquiries and charity applications

Here is a short note from the Charities Directorate on their service standards for telephone inquiries and charity applications.



GENERAL

33) Canada’s Voluntary Sector and Public Policy by Max Bell Foundation - interesting discussion

Here is a very interesting document from the Max Bell Foundation which outlines some of the difficulties and opportunities for Canadian charities and NGOs to engage in more meaningful and effective public policy discussions.




Notes

Upcoming Events

I will be delivering a number of seminars across Canada as noted above as part of the CLIP Project in Calgary, Edmonton, Hamilton, Peterborough, Ottawa, Waterloo, London and Mississauga/Toronto For further details see http://ow.ly/6xnJu

I will also be delivering workshops for the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario as well as the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Alberta.

I will be presenting at the Pillar Nonprofit Network and Foundation Western Foundation Investment Forum 2011.  Here is a copy of the agenda.


Here is an upcoming Webinar: “The role of the Not-for-Profit Board Treasurer” with CICA, PWC and the HR Council that I will be delivering along with James Temple and Sara Oates.



Past Events


I delivered CLIP seminars in Saskatoon, Regina and Toronto. 

I delivered a workshop on capacity building in the Canadian non-profit sector at CIVICUS World Assembly in Montreal. 

I presented at the Philanthropic Foundations Canada conference in Toronto on “The End of Lone Ranger Philanthropy?” along with 2 other presenters on collaboration within the charity sector. 

I attended the AFP leadership retreat in Saskatoon in August.




I hope that you found the above material helpful and please feel free to forward the e-mail newsletter to anyone you think may be interested. They can also sign up for the BLUMBERGS non-profit and charities law newsletter at http://www.canadiancharitylaw.ca/index.php/pages/subscribe/

For further information on legal resources for Canadian Non-Profits and Charities please visit www.canadiancharitylaw.ca or www.globalphilanthropy.ca

If you use Twitter you might want to follow me at:  http://twitter.com/canadiancharity I am up to 1037 followers on Twitter! 

If you want general information on registered charities in Canada you might find the archived webinars that were prepared for the Charity Law Information Program (CLIP) of Capacity Builders helpful http://www.globalphilanthropy.ca/index.php/blog/comments/webinars_on_canadian_charity_law_-_charity_law_information_program_clip_by_/

If you would like to retain our law firm for legal services or legal advice with respect to non-profits or charities, please contact me at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or at 416-361-1982.


Mark Blumberg

—————————————————————————————
Mark Blumberg, B.A., LL.B., LL.M., TEP

Blumberg Segal LLP
Barristers & Solicitors
390 Bay Street, Suite 1202
Toronto, Ontario, M5H2Y2

Tel. (416) 361-1982 ext. 237
Toll Free 1-866-961-1982
Fax. (416) 363-8451
Email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

www.canadiancharitylaw.ca
www.globalphilanthropy.ca

You can follow me on Twitter at:  http://twitter.com/canadiancharity
—————————————————————————————