The Senate has had a standing committee that has been looking at the voluntary sector in Canada. They released their report today.  The report is entitled Catalyst for Change: A Roadmap to a Stronger Charitable Sector.  It is over 189 pages long and has 42 recommendations.  

Probably my favourite recommendation relates to transparency of non-profits that are not registered charities – for which there is almost none.

Recommendation 39 (p. 120) That the Government of Canada direct the Canada Revenue Agency to assess the merits of amending section 241 of the Income Tax Act to allow the Canada Revenue Agency to publicly disclose the information contained on the T1044 Non-Profit Organization Information Return.

Here is a recent submission to the Federal government on transparency. 

Another good recommendation includes:

Recommendation 12 (p. 47) That the Government of Canada, through Treasury Board of Canada, ensure that grants and contribution agreements cover a minimum of two years, renewable as appropriate; and that the level of information required for both application and reporting on these agreements be commensurate with the level of funding, minimizing complexity for smaller amounts.

Hopefully I will have time over the summer to read the full report.