Articles 2025

Can a non-profit organization add a secondary business and use the net income to fund its non-profit objectives? Can it fund the business from a reserve accumulated from excess member contributions held for future capital expenditures? Can it provide services to non-members outside its geographical area? This article will explain CRA’s view on these questions, with reference to the Income Tax Act and Interpretation Bulletin IT-496R.

The Tax Court of Canada decision in Odette (Estate) v the Queen serves as a warning that private foundations and their donors need to be sensitive to the complex rules that apply to them, and in particular to proceed very cautiously when considering making gifts of non-qualifying securities. In this case, the court dismissed an appeal from an assessment denying the taxpayer a charitable donation tax credit. Read the full article for the court’s analysis of s.118.1(13)(c) of the Income Tax Act.

The Federal Court case of Canada (National Revenue) v Miller examines the CRA’s extensive audit powers. It affirms that the CRA can compel the production of any information that should be documented in books and records, even if a transaction was originally an oral agreement. In an audit, charities and NFPs should be prepared to make reasonable efforts to accurately respond to requests for documents and information.

Who should be responsible for paying for productions prior to examinations for discovery in personal injury matters? It is my position that the onus of proof remains with the Plaintiff and that, therefore, they should be producing documentation to substantiate the claims advanced in the Statement of Claim. Why should the Defendant pay for productions to assist the Plaintiff’s claim? In the decision of Rheaume v. Foster, we received some more clarity on this issue.

Recent case law: predatory marriages and the test for capacity in Ontario. Does the current threshold for capacity to marry encourage predatory marriages?

In the context of third-party political advertising restrictions, Melanie Zetusian provides an in-depth analysis of the ONSC decision in Working Families Ontario v. Ontario, where the Applicants challenged the constitutionality of the amendments made by the Ontario legislature via the Protecting Ontario Elections Act, 2021.