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Greetings!

 

**N.B. This is a 'second resend' of an earlier copy of the same newsletter as several recipients told us of their inability to access the links. Apparently, the problem involved Google Analytics, we do not believe the problem could have been detected earlier and apologize once again for the inconvenience. We have been assured by our email list provider that the problem has now been completely resolved**
 
Welcome to the March 2012 edition of Charity Law Insights.

 

February was a busy month at Drache Aptowitzer LLP;

 

At the beginning of the month, Adam Aptowitzer and Yvonne Chenier presented topics at the Legal Education Society of Alberta.

 

Shortly thereafter, Adam Aptowitzer, on behalf of the firm, was invited as a witness before the Parliamentary Committee on Finance which is investigating incentives to charitable giving. To hear Adam's opening comments click here.

 

Today, the CD Howe Institute has released a new study by Adam Aptowitzer and Ben Dachis on financing charities through business income. That paper is available here.

 

To cap off a busy February, we are proud to announce that Yvonne Chenier of our Calgary office has been appointed a Queen's Counsel in Alberta.

 

As usual, we are happy to present the latest offerings from Drache Aptowitzer LLP's team. If you have any questions or comments please feel free to contact any one of us.

 

Yours truly,
Drache Aptowitzer LLP


A recent ruling letter deals with the question as to whether a person who is a member of a society or non-profit corporation can be a "shareholder" for the purposes of the Income Tax Act.

 

We were intrigued in part because the factual basis of the questions seems to flow from a plan we advocated at least a decade ago, the holding of a family cottage property within a corporation without share capital.

 

To read the full article click here:

From the Source: Tax Withholdings Can Lead to Personal Problems for Directors

 

Adam Aptowitzer

 

Most directors of a charity are well versed on the high profile aspects of the charity's operations. But often the overlooked, mundane tasks present the greatest potential threat of director liability. And of these, perhaps the most serious area of concern for operational charities is the proper withholding and remitting of source deductions. This is particularly true during times of economic hardship when charities can be tempted to use withheld source deductions as a means of making ends meet.

  

To read the full article:   

New Accounting Standards
 

Yvonne Chenier

 

Not-for-profit organizations have a choice to make for fiscal years beginning on or after January 1, 2012.  According to the Accounting Standards Board "Not-for-profit organizations have the choice of adopting accounting standards for not-for-profit organizations in Part III or International Financial Reporting Standards in Part I of the CICA Handbook - Accounting. In either case, a not-for-profit organization will be able to state that its financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Canadian GAAP."  

 

To see the rest of this article click here: 
New Federal Law Governing Not-For-Profits May Lead to Disputes
By: Joel Secter
Joel Secter
Since the Canada Not-for-Profit Corporations Act ("NFP Act") came into force on October 17, 2011, we have been advising federally incorporated not-for-profits on continuing under the new legislation. We have already written on the nuts and bolts of continuance, which entails filing the required forms and submitting a new general by-law for the corporation. Here we would like to explore some of the issues that may arise internally as corporations move from the Canada Corporations Act ("CCA") to the NFP Act. Ultimately, having a firm grasp of what is permissible under both statutes is necessary to ensure that the corporation's continuance is uncontested

 

For more information click here: http://www.drache.ca/articles/charities/disputes-under-new-cnfpca

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Drache Aptowitzer LLP
Ottawa
226 MacLaren Street
Ottawa, Ontario K2P 0L6 
T. 613.237.3300  F. 613.237.2786

Calgary
West Tower - Sun Life Plaza
144 - 4th Ave. S.W.
Suite 1600
Calgary, AB T2P 3N4

T. 403.536.7442  F. 403.800.3094