Legislation Update
May 2022 Charity & NFP Law Update
Published on May 26, 2022
Bill C-19, Budget Implementation Act 2022, No. 1Following the introduction of Budget 2022, draft legislation for the Budget Implementation Act, 2022, No.1 was tabled in the House of Commons on April 26, 2022, as reported in the April 2022 Charity & NFP Law Update. The draft legislation was subsequently introduced in the House of Commons as Bill C-19 on April 28, 2022, where it has most recently completed Second Reading as of May 10, 2022. Notably, Bill C-19 contains proposed legislative changes to the ITA that will impact registered charities’ ability to work with organizations that are not Canadian registered charities or other types of qualified donees. According to Budget 2022, the provisions are intended to embody “the spirit” of Bill S-216, as discussed in Charity & NFP Law Bulletin No. 510. For a more detailed discussion on Bill C-19, please see Bill C-19 Budget Implementation Act, 2022, No. 1 Proposes Major Changes to Legislative Framework Governing Charities, above. Bill S-216, Effective and Accountable Charities ActAfter being placed on the order of precedence on February 9, 2022, Bill S-216, Effective and Accountable Charities Act commenced Second Reading in the House of Commons on May 16, 2022. As discussed in the November 2021 Charity & NFP Law Update, Bill S-216 proposes amendments to the ITA to eliminate the own activities test and the direction and control regime, in order to permit charities to provide their resources to non-qualified donees, provided that charities take reasonable steps to ensure those resources are used exclusively for a charitable purpose. Of note, Bill C-19, discussed above, which contains provisions that are intended to embody “the spirit” of Bill S-216, currently provides that it will pre-emptively repeal Bill S-216 if it receives royal assent prior to Bill C-19. Notwithstanding the concurrent bills, Mr. Philip Lawrence (Northumberland—Peterborough South, CPC) indicated at the Second Reading debates that “there is nearly unanimous support for this legislation across the charitable sectors”. Alberta Bill 12, Trustee ActAs reported in the April 2022 Charity & NFP Law Update, draft legislation to replace Alberta’s Trustee Act was introduced by way of Bill 12, Trustee Act on March 29, 2022. As of April 29. 2022, Bill 12 received Royal Assent, and will come into force on Proclamation. Once in force, Bill 12 will replace the Trustee Act currently in force in Alberta. Bill 12 is based on the Uniform Law Conference of Canada’s Uniform Trustee Act, and modernizes and clarifies provisions to support the day-to-day function of trusts for Albertans, including charities. Among the changes, Bill 12 clarifies the powers of trustees and the rules around trust property investment, and proposes a new standard of care for professional and institutional trustees. Part 7 of the new Act contains provisions related to charitable trusts and non-charitable purpose trusts, and sets out provisions, for example, regarding the court’s power to vary charitable trusts and to order the sale of property of charitable trusts. |