We assist Canadian charities understand their legal and ethical obligations when operating charities in Canada or abroad and provide insights and information to non-Canadian charities interested in operating or fundraising in Canada.
The charitable sector in Canada has become highly competitive. There are over 86,000 Canadian registered charities. Donors, regulators, media, the public as well as other stakeholders, have increasingly high standards for charities and their operations. GlobalPhilanthropy.ca will assist non-profits and charities in Canada in trying to be transparent, legal, ethical and effective.
The Canadian Charity Law Association is delivering some upcoming webinars. Registration is free but space is limited. Topics are subject to change.
The case of Markou v. The Queen, 2018 TCC 66 (CanLII) in the Tax Court of Canada dealt with a leveraged donation program called “Donation Program for Medical Science and Technology”- what CRA used to refer to as an "abusive charity gifting donation scheme". The TCC determined that there was no donative intent and no gift.
The Charities Directorate of the CRA appears to be making further changes to their website. It moved in 2017 to the main Canada.ca Federal government website. Now I noticed their A-Z index of topics is now searchable. I think this new functionality is very helpful. I had commented on how helpful this list is in the past and having it be searchable is even more helpful. Hopefully, CRA will continue working on the searchable list to make it more relevant and easier for people to find information.
Here is an article I recently wrote entitled Top Canadian Charity Law Issues for Charity Village. It highlights some of the top compliance issues that a Canadian charity should be concerned with.
As a charity lawyer, I spend a lot of time using the internet to access databases and information on non-profit and charity issues. Here are Some of my favourite Canadian charity bookmarks. Hopefully it is helpful.
There are over 2.5m pages on the Government of Canada's website and only a few thousand deal with registered charities. Here are some tips on finding information on registered charities. However, keep in mind that information and legal advice are two very different matters - if the issue is important and involves potentially large consequences consider obtaining professional legal advice from a lawyer who is very knowledgeable about non-profits and charities and consequently probably spends most of their time practicing in the narrow confines of charity and non-profit law.
Join Blumbergs' non-profit and charities newsletter
View recent issue: March 2018
Do you require legal advice with respect to Canadian or Ontario non-profits or charities?
Mark Blumberg is a partner at the law firm of Blumberg Segal LLP in Toronto and works almost exclusively in the areas of non-profit and charity law.
mark@blumbergs.ca
416.361.1982
Download vCard
Join Charity Law List!
Receive Blumbergs' FREE monthly newsletter with the latest information on Canadian charity law and compliance information.