I recently had the pleasure of hearing Ross McMillan, President & CEO of Tides Canada, at the Economic Club on June 27, 2012.  He spoke eloquently on the role of environmental charities and the current debate around Canadian charites involved with political activities.  Here is a copy of the speech on the Tides Canada website that he delivered.

www.tidescanada.org/news/charity-and-prosperity-a-response-to-the-current-critique-on-philanthropy-in-canada/

Jamie Ellerton, Executive Director of Ethical Oil, sat to my right (literally and perhaps figuratively as well) and we had a good discussion over lunch.  Jamie presented to the Finance Committee on May 28, 2012 along with Marcel Lauziere (Imagine Canada), Dennis Howlett (Canadians for Tax Fairness) and myself.  We all had different perspectives on charities and regulatory issues.

Here is a link to Tides Canada’s microsite they created to enhance transparency:
http://www.tidescanada.org/strangebedfellows/index.html