Posts Tagged ‘Political activities’

CRA Consultation Panel Releases its Report on Charities Political Activities

May 10th, 2017 by Claudia Pedrero

The Consultation Panel on the Political Activities of Charities (the Consultation Panel) has now released its Report recommending changes to how charities should be regulated in Canada.

Earlier this year, we blogged about the Canada Revenue Agency’s (the CRA’s) consultation process on charities’ political activities.

Our firm also submitted its recommendations to the CRA advocating for changes that would allow charities to effectively participate in public policy debates.

In our submissions we took the position that the CRA’s current rules restricting charities’ political activities make their political role ineffective despite the fact charities are uniquely positioned to advocate for the public interest and many are experts in their fields.

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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.

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Charities and the limits of political action under the Harper government

July 31st, 2014 by Brian Iler

Environmental Defence. PEN Canada. Amnesty International Canada. The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. Canada Without Poverty. The David Suzuki Foundation.

What do these organizations have in common — aside from all doing great work?

All are registered charities.

All have been publicly critical of Stephen Harper’s government.

And all are undergoing audits of their political activities by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).

What’s this about? Here’s what you need to know.

Read more on rabble.ca