October Meetings of the Special Senate Committee on the Charitable Sector
During this past month, the Special Senate Committee on the Charitable Sector (the “Committee”) continued its meetings to hear from witnesses in its study of the impact of laws and policies on the charitable and not-for-profit sector and the impact of the voluntary sector in Canada. In October, three meetings were held on October 1, 15 and 22. Videos of each meeting are available on the Committee website and minutes of each meeting are normally made available a few days after the meeting, although delays can occur.
The October 1, 2018 meeting focused on the issue of employment and the people who work at charities and other not-for-profit organizations. The witnesses specified employment needs in the sector, including: adequate compensation and stability for those employed in the sector; the need for public recognition of the sector’s value; the need for diversity with respect to boards of directors and recruitment that reflect the community which the organization serves, and overall improvement to working conditions. Other issues discussed included the unstable funding for charitable organizations; rapid disruption of technology and its effects on the sector, and the competition for those skilled in human resources to assist in the operations of charities and other not-for-profits.
On October 15, 2018, the Committee focused on clients and diversity and inclusion within charities and other not-for-profit organizations. Witnesses raised issues such as: the need for government funding to help develop and adopt strategies promoting diversity and inclusion; the importance of engaging the younger demographic in the volunteer sector; establishing greater infrastructure support for not-for-profit organizations operating in rural regions, and greater engagement, support and development of relationships with organizations involved with Indigenous philanthropy.
Lastly, on October 22, 2018, the Committee focused on regulatory issues with respect to charities and other not-for-profit organizations. Issues discussed included: the failure of the development of the definition of “charity” at common law; the recommendation that cases involving appeals from Canada Revenue Agency decisions be heard in the Tax Court of Canada; the modernization of the current government regime with respect to the regulation of charities; the changes to the legislative requirements that apply to charities to provide clarity, certainty and simplification for charities; and the need for caution in applying social enterprise concepts to charities given the potential confusion that can arise.
Online Questionnaire
The Committee has now made available its online questionnaire, previously discussed in the September 2018 Charity & NFP Law Update. The questionnaire is comprised of eighteen questions and will be used to help the Committee better understand the challenges faced by the charitable and not-for-profit sector. Once the study is finished, the Committee will release a final report including the key results from this survey as well as any related publications. The Committee will be accepting responses to the questionnaire until 11:59pm on November 2, 2018. Interested stakeholders who have questions with respect to this survey are invited to contact the Committee’s clerk, whose information is provided in the questionnaire.