January 24, 2021
CBC “Pandemic tests limits of religious freedom as churches set to fight B.C.’s COVID-19 rules in court”
The CBC's Jason Proctor wrote an article today on "Pandemic tests limits of religious freedom as churches set to fight B.C.'s COVID-19 rules in…
January 2, 2021
La Presse Inc. is first registered journalism organization registered under new category of qualified donee
La Presse Inc. is now the first registered journalism organization registered under new category of qualified donee. You can see it listed here. As…
December 29, 2020
Some quick stats on the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act (“CNCA”)
Did you know that there are: 31,462 active CNCA corporations (As of September 1st 2020) 3,364 incorporations last year alone: (Fiscal year…
December 29, 2020
Canadian charities can have relationships with non-charities but need to have adequate separation
We recently did a course entitled Multiple Corporate Structures for Canadian For-Profits, NPOs, + Charities to Enhance Flexibility and Impact.…
December 29, 2020
New Ontario Business Registry will one day become active and you should sign up now to get reminders and information
The Ontario Ministry of Government Services is launching a new Ontario Business Registry at some point over the next year or two. This Registry will…
December 20, 2020
Another version of CRA’s guidance on advancement of religion released in an access to information request
We have been blogging about CRA's draft guidance "Advancement of religion and charitable registration" in 2009, 2017 and 2018. Essentially CRA has…
December 20, 2020
Why does CRA ask about charitable “activities” and not just about charitable “purposes”
In a recent CRA document, we obtained that was released through access to information, it provides a good explanation of why CRA cares about…
December 20, 2020
CRA document “Purposes Not Being Furthered” dealing with charity applications without adequate information on activities
About 4000 groups apply each year to the Charities Directorate of CRA to receive registered charitable status and about 46% obtain that status. The…
November 30, 2020
CRA updates guidance CG-027, Public policy dialogue and development activities by charities – only minor changes
The CRA has updated their guidance CG-027, Public policy dialogue and development activities by charities. There were only minor changes to the…
November 27, 2020
CRA’s New Education Guidance – CG-030, Advancement of education and charitable registration
CRA issued a few new guidances today, including a guidance on the advancement of education: CG-030, Advancement of education and charitable…
November 27, 2020
CRA’s New Guidance – CG-029, Relief of Poverty and Charitable Registration
Today, CRA released it's new Guidance, CG-029, Relief of poverty and charitable registration. This relatively short guidance provides some useful…
November 27, 2020
CRA releases foreign activity guidance after multi-year delays as well as guidance on intermediaries working in Canada
CRA released today the updated guidance CG-002, Canadian registered charities carrying on activities outside Canada. Essentially, this guidance…
October 30, 2020
Capacity building, education, and online courses for the Canadian charity and non-profit sector
Our firm has been using online tools for over 10 years – primarily webinars. In 2018, we moved to providing paid online courses dealing with charity…
October 23, 2020
CRA Service standards for charities for 2020 – 2021
The CRA has service standards and the Charities Directorate publishes those service standards. The service standards are for "enquiries" and…
October 5, 2020
Upcoming Webinars for the Canadian Charity Law Association
The Canadian Charity Law Association is delivering some upcoming webinars. Registration is free but space is limited. Topics are subject to change.…
September 25, 2020
ONCA update but still don’t know when ONCA will be brought into force
[Update - the motion to extend the period within ONCA can be brought into force was carried on September 21, 2020.] As we have noted before,…
September 23, 2020
Now is the time to get onto CRA’s Digital Services for Charities
While restrictions are easing up and businesses are getting back to work, now is still a good time for registered charities to get on to CRA's new…
September 22, 2020
CRA Charities Directorate email today on upcoming changes with our comments
The Charities Directorate of CRA sent out an email today to their electronic mailing list. The full text is below and our comments are in [brackets…
July 19, 2020
We have recently added two new online courses for Canadian charities
We have recently added 2 new full-day courses namely Fundamentals of Running a Canadian Charitable Organization/Operating Charity and Fundamentals of…
June 29, 2020
Some compliance trends or task over the next 6 months for Canadian registered charities
Here are a number of trends or compliance suggestions for charities over the next six months: If you are an Ontario corporation under the Ontario…
June 26, 2020
Online Charity Application losing Corporate Documents
If you have submitted an online charity application using CRA's Digital Services for Registered Charities, you may have received or may still receive…
June 22, 2020
Update on the new Ontario Not-For-Profit Corporations (ONCA) and regulations
The Ontario government has asked for comments on regulations affecting the new Ontario Not-For-Profit Corporations (ONCA). The deadline is today.…
May 28, 2020
CRA notice on charity applications – yes CRA is processing charity applications!
CRA has been processing charity applications during the COVID pandemic - even when they were "shut down". This recent CRA notice advises charities…
May 19, 2020
What is a Qualified donee under the Income Tax Act Canada in 2020? How many are there?
A qualified donee is an organization that can issue official donation receipts for gifts it receives from individuals and corporations. It can also…