September 27, 2016 Ottawa, Ontario Canada Revenue Agency

The Government of Canada recognizes that charitable organizations are valuable contributors to public debate and public policy, which is why the Government has made a commitment to clarify the rules that govern their participation in political activities. It is important that charities be allowed to bring their vast experience—whether in relieving poverty, fighting drug addiction, protecting the environment, or advancing education—to the formulation of public policy and the continuing well-being of Canada and Canadians.

Working directly with the charitable sector to clarify the rules that guide their daily activities, and providing more information to the public about how the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) regulates charities, reflects the Government of Canada’s commitment to openness, transparency and service excellence.

Having announced in January the winding down of the political activities audit program, today marks the first step in a process to engage the charitable sector to clarify the rules governing political activities. Today the Honourable Diane Lebouthillier, Minister of National Revenue, announced the start of public consultations on the rules regarding the involvement of registered charities in political activities.

During the announcement, Minister Lebouthillier committed to consulting with registered charities on this subject. Online consultations, open to all charities and the public, will begin today and will continue into the fall. In-person consultations with representatives from the charitable sector, moderated by an independent external facilitator, will then take place in Halifax, Montréal, Toronto, Winnipeg, Calgary and Vancouver later this year.

Minister Lebouthillier has established a consultation panel consisting of five individuals with expertise in the regulatory issues facing charities. These panel members are:

Marlene Deboisbriand - Chair of the Panel

• Current Vice-President of the Boys and Girls of Canada
• Current member of the Board of Directors at Imagine Canada
• Former Vice President of United Way of Canada-Centraide Canada

Peter Robinson

• Current CEO of the David Suzuki Foundation
• Current member of the Board of Directors at Imagine Canada
• Former CEO of Mountain Equipment Co-op

Kevin McCort

• Current President and CEO of the Vancouver Foundation
• Current member of the Board of Directors of Community Foundations of Canada
• Former President and CEO of CARE Canada

Susan Manwaring

• Partner at Miller Thomson and National Lead of Miller Thomson’s Social Impact Group
• Current Director at the Pemsel Case Foundation
• Past Chair of the Charities and Not-for-Profit Section Executive of the Ontario Bar Association

Shari Austin

• Principal Consultant at Shari Austin & Company
• Former Vice President of Corporate Citizenship at RBC and Executive Director of the RBC Foundation
• Recipient of the Outstanding Achievement Award of Excellence in Corporate Responsibility (2014) from Green Living

This panel will use feedback from the online and in-person consultations to make recommendations to the Minister that they will include in a report in early 2017.

Charities and members of the public who wish to participate in the online consultation can access the questions directly from the CRA’s website.

Quotes

Quick facts

• The CRA registers charities under the Income Tax Act to make sure they continue to comply with the requirements of the Act.
• Charitable registration comes with privileges, such as issuing official donation receipts. It also comes with obligations, such as complying with the requirements of the Act related to charities’ involvement in political activities. The Act allows charities to carry out a limited amount of non-partisan political activities in support of their charitable purposes.
• The rules regarding the political activities of charities have been in effect since 1985 and are outlined in Policy Statement CPS-022, Political Activities, published in 2003.
• Of the approximately 86,000 charities in Canada, about 500 report carrying out political activities on their annual information return to the CRA.

Associated Links

• Charities program facts and figures
• News release (January 20): Minister Lebouthillier announces winding down of the political activities audit program for charities
• Policy Statement CPS-022, Political Activities
• Resources for charities about political activities
• Video Series: Charities and their participation in political activities

Additional Information

The full biographies of all the members are annexed to this release.

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Chloé Luciani-Girouard
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of National Revenue
613-995-2960

Media Relations
Canada Revenue Agency
613-952-9184