The Context of Charity Law in Canada » Organization and Contents » Selection Parameters » Attribution
The purpose of this bibliography is to draw together various web resources
about charity law and regulation in Canada. The bibliography was originally
published in 2004 as part of the Canada Revenue Agency’s Engagement Strategy
which endeavoured to improve the confidence of both the public and the charitable
sector in the way the sector is regulated.
The second edition of the annotated bibliography has been made possible by a financial contribution from the Canada Revenue Agency. Ninety-two (92) new entries have been added to the bibliography. The second edition of the bibliography presents updated and new resources, and focuses on ten topic areas as they relate to charity law in Canada. Specifically, three topic areas of focus relating to: books and records, fundraising, and receipting.
The bibliography identifies existing web resources that provide information
about the law governing charities in Canada at both the federal and provincial
levels. It identifies the key Canadian agencies that use the web to provide
information about charity law and regulation. The second edition reflects
the growth in variety and availability of online resources regarding charity
and non-profit law from 2004 to 2008.
Provinces in Canada have jurisdiction over charities and every province
has legislation affecting charities. The responsibility for overseeing charities
and dealing with issues that arise relating to the operation of charities
or gifts to charities rests with the Attorney-General in each province.1
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) however, decides whether an organization
will be registered for Federal Income Tax Act purposes and can therefore
issue charitable tax receipts. An organization can run on a non-profit basis
without registering as a Registered Charity with the CRA – it need only
follow the applicable provincial legislation.
The bibliography is organized into four main sections:
1. Key Websites:
The first section lists the websites of those government departments, sector
participants and public legal education organizations that provide a significant
amount of electronic information about charity law. These websites reflect
what could be considered some of the best charity and non-profit law resources
in Canada.
2.
Government Resources:
The second section contains an annotated list of selected provincial and
federal government resources, organized geographically from west to east.
The section includes websites containing the primary legislation related
to non-profit and charity regulation for each province. However, in each
province there are sections within other Acts that may be applicable to
a particular charity, depending upon its mandate. For instance, in Ontario,
the Donation of Food Act may be relevant to some charities. Not all these
specific Acts have been included.
3.
Major Topic Lists:
The third section contains 10 different topic areas (including the three
major areas of focus for the Enhancing Voluntary Compliance project). These
topics focus on charity law in Canada in the following specific subject
areas:
- Books & Records
- Donor Information
- Fundraising
- Governance
- Incorporation / Dissolution
- Legislation
- Privacy
- Receipting
- Taxation
- Volunteers
4.
Alphabetical List:
The fourth section contains the complete bibliographical list of websites
and documents considered to be the major sources of information as of the
date of this bibliography. This list is arranged alphabetically by author
or organization. Each citation includes an abstract describing the web resource.
The resources have been developed by a wide range of organizations and agencies,
including federal and provincial governments, non-profit organizations,
and private firms.
The online version of this second edition has a newly created database complete
with search capabilities and improved access to the major topic lists. The
online records also enable the user to scan for specific types of information
by way of icon markers. These icons will be placed beside certain citations
to indicate the following characteristics of the record:
- Audio / podcasts
- Canada Revenue Agency materials
- Forum / discussion groups
- Full text
- Government materials
- Law / accounting firm materials
- Laws
- Research / academic papers
- Tipsheets / newsletters / RSS feeds
- Books / Book excerpts
The bibliography contains a selective, not exhaustive list of resources, including:
ii. Resources in several formats (academic papers, committee reports, newsletters, websites, FAQs, short texts, and commentaries) and
iii. for the second edition of the bibliography, the parameters were expanded to include other formats of information including podcasts and PowerPoint presentations.
Items included are:
i. Related to charities and the law in Canada
ii. Canadian
iii. Developed by reputable, authoritative authors or organizations,
iv. Currently up-to-date, or contained a clear date as to when it was created,
v. Accessible and reasonably easy to locate, and
vi. Reasonably easy to navigate and to find information.
Since 2004, there have been a growing number of consumer protection materials that focus on charitable donations and donor awareness. Some of the major resources have been identified for this bibliography but the bibliography does not present a complete or exhaustive list of these types of resources.
Where possible, the annotations for the resources have been drawn directly from the site.
Lesley Conley
Marilyn Doyle
Kirsten Wurmann
Prepared for the Canada Revenue Agency, Charities Directorate (Project # CHAR-GC-2006-2008-25-4(49)).
ISBN: 978-0-919792-42-5