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10 Est. & Tr. J. 7 (1990-1991)
The Myth of Charitable Activities

handle is hein.journals/espjrl10 and id is 19 raw text is: THE MYTH OF CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES Maurice C. Cullity, Q.C.* CONTENTS 1. The Concept of Charitable Activities ................................. 9 2. Fund-Raising Activities of Charities .................................. 13 3. Control of the Activities of Charities ................................. 23 4. Political Activities ................................................. 24 5. C onclusion ...................................................... 28 In recent months an unusual degree of public attention and comment has been directed at supposed restrictions imposed by the laws of Ontario on the activities of charitable bodies. Questions have been raised, for example, with respect to the legality or illegality of the involvement of charities in politics, fund-raising activities and commercial enterprises of various kinds. In these contexts and in others it has been stated or implied, from time to time, that the activities of a charitable body are restricted by law to those that can be characterized as charitable. It is that general proposition that I wish to challenge, for I believe it is, on the most favourable interpretation, highly misleading and, on the worst, meaningless. It can lead to mistakes not only when questions arise under the laws of any of the common law provinces but also when the interpretation and application of the provisions of the Income Tax Act that apply to registered charities are in issue. More specifically, I want to argue that: (1) it is impossible to characterize activities in the abstract as charitable or non-charitable; (2) although for the purposes of particular statutes a distinction may be required between activities that are methods of advancing charitable objects or purposes solely or primarily through fund- raising, and activities that advance charitable objects or pur- * Of Davies, Ward and Beck, Toronto.