Handling disputes with the Canadian Revenue Agency: The audit phase

Since June 2005, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has had the power to impose penalties on charities for breaking certain rules which stop short of revoking the charity's registered status. These intermediate penalties range from a $500 penalty for not...

Canada’s international aid role, part II: The government viewpoint

Our last column about international aid dealt with the views of front-line workers, NGO's and charities with regards to Canada's international aid role. Today's piece takes a look at what our government thinks about where Canada is and should be...

Governance Q&A: Handling sensitive client information and confidentiality

Our treasurer has directed us to include client names, contact information, and reason for intervention on our weekly activity reports. These reports go to the finance department and are seen by the bookkeeper, accountant, and finance committee. She said the...

Capital gains tax: The continuing fight

Thirty-four years ago a government worried about recessions and revenue streams saddled the Canadian public with a new tax. Charities, community organizations, and individuals have been paying ever since. The Canadian Capital Gains Tax came into existence in 1971 with...

When is a Gift Really a Gift?

Considering the Income Tax Act devotes quite a bit of attention to the issue of gifts, it is perhaps surprising that there is no definition of gift or the act of giving or receiving a gift in the Act. In...

Don’t call me, I’ll call you: Implications of a national do-not-call registry

Long before the Internet introduced us to spam and those annoying web pop-ups, businesses were using the telephone to deliver their message to consumers...whether they liked it or not. Last year, the federal government decided it was finally time to...

Supreme Court of Canada adopts broad view of religious freedom

Following on the heels of the Federal Court of Appeal's decision in Fuaran Foundation v. Canada Customs and Revenue Agency, 2004 FCA 181 (the "Fuaran Foundation decision"), which narrowly construed the practices constituting "advancing religion" in the charitable sense, the...

A strategic approach to successful compliance under PIPEDA – focus on enforcement and remedies

Further to the substantive analysis of the policies and principles imbedded in the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (hereinafter referred to as 'PIPEDA'), the purpose of this follow-up paper is to examine the rather comprehensive remedial sections...

Practical steps for implementing a privacy policy

Application of Privacy Schemes Other than to meet statutory requirements, organizations can view the implementation of a privacy scheme as a useful tool to build trust amongst employees and consumers. Readily available and transparent systems will likely raise the confidence...

Improper issuance of charitable receipts

There are many situations in which charitable receipts may be improperly issued. The tax issues involved, however, are so many and detailed that any charity actively involved in a number of fundraising programs should have access to a summary of...
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