On June 1, 2017, Senator Terry Mercer made a motion before the Senate for the creation of a Special Committee on the Charitable Sector (the “Committee”) to study not only charities but also NFPs, as well as the impact of federal and provincial laws on them. Senator Mercer cited Statistics Canada’s General Social Survey: Giving, volunteering and participating, 2013, which indicated that participation in volunteer work had decreased between 2010 and 2013. Senator Mercer identified several questions for the Committee including:
- How do we modernize the NFP and charitable sectors in Canada?
- Why do we need volunteers and donations?
- What motivates someone to volunteer or donate?
- How does socio-economic status, geography, gender, or culture affect volunteering or donating?
- What can we do to encourage more volunteering and donating?
- What are the barriers to volunteering and donating?
- How are current tax credits working?
- How is the Income Tax Act supporting charities, NFPs and volunteers?
- How efficient and effective are the policies and laws governing the philanthropic sector?
- How are charities regulated and are there barriers to their success, either provincially or federally, or both?
- How do government departments interact with charities?
Senator Mercer proposes that the Committee speak with groups representing the sector, volunteers, government officials, charities and NFPs and present a report at around the one-year mark following the framework for the Committee being put in place. Senator Mercer’s motion is particularly timely, given the recent report of the Consultation Panel on the Political Activities of Charities, covered in our Charity & NFP Law Bulletin No. 403. The motion was again debated on June 21, 2017 without resolution. Hopefully, if successful, this motion will enhance understanding of the sector and what is working and not working in the current regulatory framework.