by Dev User | Jun 25, 2020 | Uncategorized
June 2020 Charity & NFP Law Update
The federal government introduced Bill C-17, An Act Respecting Additional COVID-19 Measures (“Bill C-17”) for first reading in the House of Commons on June 10, 2020. However, without the support of opposition parties, it is unclear whether Bill C-17 will eventually pass. At this time, Bill C-17 contains a number of provisions that will be of interest to charities and NFPs.
Part 1 of Bill C-17 proposes to amend the ITA to revise the eligibility criteria for the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (“CEWS”). This would be done by allowing an “eligible entity” (which would include “trusts” under a proposed amendment to section 125.7 of the ITA) to qualify for the CEWS if, on March 15, 2020, the entity had its own business number and made remittances to Canada Revenue Agency (“CRA”) as required under section 153 of the ITA or had its payroll administered by another person or partnership (referred to as a “payroll service provider”) which used its own business number to make remittances to CRA as required under section 153 of the ITA in respect of the employees of the eligible entity.
Part 2 of Bill C-17 would enact the Time Limits and Other Periods Act (COVID-19), which would suspend or extend (or temporarily enable Ministers to suspend or extent) certain time limits and periods established by or under various Acts of Parliament, including in relation to proceedings before the courts, for a maximum of six months. Of note, this proposed legislation would enable the Minister under the Canada Not-for-Profit Corporations Act (“CNCA”) to make orders to extend or suspend time limits retroactive to March 13, 2020 for: i) calling and providing notice of meetings of members; ii) placing annual financial statements before members at annual meetings, and iii) providing copies of annual financial statements to members and directors.
Part 3 of Bill C-17 would amend the ITA and the Children’s Special Allowances Act to provide for a one-time payment to persons with disabilities for reasons related to COVID-19.
Part 4 of Bill C-17 proposes changes to the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (“CERB”), a taxable benefit of $2,000 every four weeks for up to four months for eligible workers who have lost their employment income as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the proposed legislation, workers who fail to return to work when it is reasonable to do so or decline a reasonable job offer will not be eligible for the CERB. As well, workers who make false or misleading representations, provide false or misleading information or knowingly receive benefits that they were not eligible to receive will be subject to both monetary penalties and imprisonment.
With legislative and administrative changes occurring on a daily basis in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, charities and NFPs should continue to monitor the progress of Bill C-17 or any substitute bill or bills tabled by the federal government in the coming weeks.
Read the June 2020 Charity & NFP Law Update
by Dev User | Jun 25, 2020 | Uncategorized
June 2020 Charity & NFP Law Update
The Ontario government announced on June 18, 2020 that, in partnership with the federal government, it is launching a “privacy-first”, voluntary contact tracing mobile app (or application) called “COVID Alert”, which will alert Ontarians if they may have been exposed to COVID-19. The app is expected to be available for download in Ontario starting on July 2, 2020.
Once launched, Ontarians may voluntarily download and install the COVID Alert app on their mobile devices. The COVID Alert app will not collect or store personal, health or location data, and will notify users anonymously if they have been exposed to another app user who tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 14 days if they uploaded their results anonymously to the app. The app, which will be compatible with Apple and Android systems, uses the Bluetooth technology that is included in nearly all mobile devices to send out encrypted anonymized codes to other nearby mobile devices that also have the app. The COVID Alert app will also connect users to Ontario’s public health resources and recommend any necessary measures such as self-monitoring, self-isolation and testing.
Although the app is being launched for testing in Ontario, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said that it will eventually be used nationwide, will be a “crucial” public health step, and will be most effective when as many people as possible have it.
According to Ontario Premier Doug Ford, privacy and security for users was the top priority in the development of the app. This approach is in keeping with the advice provided by the federal, provincial and territorial privacy commissioners who, on May 7, 2020, released a Joint Statement by Federal, Provincial and Territorial Privacy Commissioners (the “Commissioners”) providing a set of privacy principles for contact tracing apps. The Commissioners urged both levels of government to ensure that contract tracing apps respected certain key principles, including ensuring that the use of apps is voluntary; that the measures have a clear legal basis and that consent is meaningful; that the measures taken are evidence-based, proportional and minimally intrusive; that personal information is used for the intended public health purpose and for no other purpose; ensuring that de-identified or aggregate data is used whenever possible; implementing ongoing public monitoring and evaluation of the measures, as well as oversight by an independent third party; and ensuring that appropriate legal and technical security safeguards are put in place to prevent unauthorized access or misuse of personal information.
The provincial government has indicated that the COVID Alert app will not use GPS technology. Instead, as stated above, it will rely on Bluetooth to send encrypted, anonymized codes only to other nearby phones that also have the app installed.
The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada has not yet commented on the app and is “working diligently and responsibly” to provide advice to the federal government. The federal government is also establishing an external advisory council to guide the rollout of the app and ensure transparency, also in keeping with the advice of the Commissioners.
Read the June 2020 Charity & NFP Law Update
