Charities

Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation: July 1, 2017 on the horizon — are you ready?

April 10th, 2017 by Ted Hyland

Updated May 11, 2017: Corrections/clarifications to the 4th and 7th bullet points below.

If you were keeping close tabs three years ago on the advent of Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL), you may be forgiven if you lost sight of it in the past three years. After all, you worked hard to ensure that your organization would be able to send commercial electronic messages (CEMs) once July 1, 2014 rolled around.

Well, it’s time to pay attention again, because July 1, 2017 marks the coming into force of a couple of important features to CASL. Continue reading “Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation: July 1, 2017 on the horizon — are you ready?”

Federal Non Profit Corporations: Deadline of July 31, 2017 to transition from Canada Corporations Act to Canada Not-for-Profit Corporations Act

March 21st, 2017 by Ted Hyland

If you’re involved in a non‑profit organization that was incorporated under the Canada Corporations Act and your organization has not completed the transition to the Canada Not‑for‑profit Corporations Act, then you have until July 31, 2017 to do so. Corporations Canada has issued a notice that if the transition is not completed by July 31st, the corporation will be dissolved. In other words, the corporation will cease to exist, legally, and if it’s a registered charity, it could lose its charitable registration.

To obtain more details about what’s involved in completing the transition, you can check out the “Transition Guide” on Corporations Canada’s website.

If you have any questions about the transition process, you can also contact one of our lawyers.

Public interest should be central to regulation of charities’ political activities

January 6th, 2017 by Brian Iler

This article was first published on rabble.ca

Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has been notorious in recent years for its attacks on charities for their alleged political activities. Charities concerned about climate change and Aboriginal rights bore the brunt, with some still awaiting the attitude change promised by Justin Trudeau when he took power.

Taking Trudeau at his word, our law firm provided our thoughts to the Liberals’ inquiry on the issue of how charities’ political activities should be regulated.

Below is a précis. Our full submission is here.

Continue reading “Public interest should be central to regulation of charities’ political activities”

Celebrating Brian’s AMS/John Hodgson Award of Excellence in Charity and Not‑For‑Profit Law

June 3rd, 2016 by Iler Campbell

IMG_3005Brian Iler was presented with the 2016 AMS/John Hodgson Award of Excellence in Charity and Not‑For‑Profit Law on June 2 by the Ontario Bar Association Charity and Not-For‑Profit Law Section in a luncheon ceremony. Celia Chandler introduced him with a brief recounting of his career and his personality. She called out “his energy, his idealism, his ability to cut to the chase.”

Brian followed that up with more detail, recounting key moments in his career. He remains, in his words, “an unrepentant 68er ‑ hopeful, not without reason, that with collective and sustained community initiatives, the world can be made a better place.”

Read on for the full text of their comments. There’s some great history in there! Here’s to more great work to come! Continue reading “Celebrating Brian’s AMS/John Hodgson Award of Excellence in Charity and Not‑For‑Profit Law”

And the 2016 AMS/John Hodgson Award of Excellence in Charity and Not‑For‑Profit Law goes to…. Brian Iler!

May 8th, 2016 by Iler Campbell

In 42 years of practising law, Brian Iler has focused on enabling social change.  Through his passionate efforts he has had a significant and sustaining impact on the non‑profit sector.  The Ontario Bar Association has recognized Brian’s work by awarding him the 2016 AMS/John Hodgson Award of Excellence in Charity and Not‑For‑Profit Law. And we couldn’t be prouder.

Brian, ever‑modest about his achievements, says: “I’m delighted. First, because the wonderful people in my firm chose to nominate me, and also that my peers in the profession have chosen to recognize the work I’ve done. Not that it’s over yet!”

What follows is our nomination letter:

Continue reading “And the 2016 AMS/John Hodgson Award of Excellence in Charity and Not‑For‑Profit Law goes to…. Brian Iler!”

Charity law blocks progress on issues facing Canadians

February 17th, 2015 by Iler Campbell

Saturday’s edition of the Toronto Star features an op-ed penned by Brian and Garfield Mahood. In it they write of Canadian charities under attack for turning a spotlight onto the Harper government’s policies or for advocating for public policy change. CRA audits of charitable status, they write, are creating a culture of self-censorship that is inhibiting many NGOs from working effectively.

Read the full article here