Is it ethical for a member to demand a list of fellow members of a charity, or is this a breach of confidentiality? I'll have to break this question into component parts. a) Is this a breach of confidentiality? This...
Readers in British Columbia may be aware of the current consultations taking place regarding Ministry of Finance staff recommendations for changes to the Society Act – the legal framework for societies in BC. Consultations took place in February in Vancouver...
The Canada Revenue Agency's new guidance on fundraising is scheduled to be released in March. Preliminary details were revealed in an hour-long webinar on February 10, hosted by charity lawyer Mark Blumberg and co-sponsored by both the CRA's Charities Directorate...
Call it teamwork. Collaboration. Synergy. Whatever term you wish to use, there's a lot of it going on between sector organizations and government. Over the last few years it has become apparent to both people working in nonprofits and civil...
Since 1917, federally incorporated nonprofits had to rely on the Canada Corporations Act (CCA) to provide the legal framework for their creation and governance. But its vagueness and inability to reflect the modern reality of today's nonprofit led to 20...
Back in 2010, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) released new charity guidance entitled Canadian Registered Charities Carrying out Activities Outside Canada. As the title implies, it has to do with how organizations can legally allocate funding for charitable work outside...
A revolution is brewing. It began as early as 2006, with the realization by some that the Canadian nonprofit sector needed to project a cleaner, more trustworthy image to the public and to donors at large. The catalyst for this...
According to some observers, the vast majority of internships at nonprofits and elsewhere may well be illegal. "There is widespread mischaracterization of interns as persons receiving training," says Andrew Langille, a lawyer and blogger in Toronto who specializes in employment,...
When the federal government announced its budget on June 6, one of the measures within it made Registered Canadian Amateur Athletic Associations (RCAAAs) sit up and take notice. On June 10, Cathy Hawara, the Canada Revenue Agency's Charities Directorate executive...
In early April, Manitoba Premier Greg Selinger grabbed the attention of sector organizations by announcing his province was set to provide "stable funding and less red tape" for nonprofits. He's beginning by launching a two-year pilot project designed to evaluate...
