Montreal City Weblog

Kate 06:55 on 2019-05-13 Permalink Reply  

• Ephraim 07:32 on 2019-05-13 Permalink

  Question #1. Are they listed at https://apps.cra-arc.gc.ca/ebci/hacc/srch/pub/dsplyBscSrch?request_locale=en . If the answer is no, then do not proceed to donate. There are specific guidelines in Canada that you have to follow to be a real charity, including a minimum amount that has to be spent on your charitable work… anyone who isn’t there… can’t meet the guidelines… like paying out too much in salaries and not doing the work they are supposed to.

• Blork 09:56 on 2019-05-13 Permalink

  I’ve been questioning them for years. “SPA” is piggybacking on the “SPCA” tame in terms of name recognition, but it’s very difficult to find anything concrete about them online. The solicitors are all super-enthusiastic youths who (to me at least) seem like easily led people who are so happy to be helping puppies and kittens that it never occurs to them to question where the money is going. (Although the article shows that at least some of them did so).

• walkerp 10:25 on 2019-05-13 Permalink

  No annual report is a huge red flag. Sounds like they started out idealistically, things grew and now they are liking the income too much and lack the skills to actually put their ideals to use.

• Ephraim 10:27 on 2019-05-13 Permalink

  Blork – They all hire the same company to go do the soliciting for them. The only thing that changes is the smock they wear. Real charities don’t have to do that. They know who you are from previous years and send you in a form/email to remind you. And issue an actual receipt with a tax number. See https://www.donaction.ca/ which itself isn’t a charity either. They also need to meet a disbursement quota… if you are paying 50% of your money out to donaction to collect for you, you aren’t meeting disbursement quotas… see https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/charities-giving/charities/checklists-charities/basic-guidelines.html

• walkerp 21:03 on 2019-05-13 Permalink

  Ephraim, that is not accurate. Read the entire article. SPA is the only one left that does its own street canvassing. The others legit non-profits all use external contractors, of which there are 4 operating in Quebec.
  Also, it is important to understand the distinction between charities and non-profits in this context. In the 80s, the Mulroney government created a law that removes charity status from any non-profit that lobbies politically. This was a tactic to weaken non-profits that had views opposing the government at the time. So many non-profits lost their charity status and do not offer tax receipts. Doesn’t make their cause any less important or their work illegitimate.

• Ephraim 08:06 on 2019-05-14 Permalink

  Some not-for-profits are used as a way of enriching those who are running it. For example, Tourisme Montreal. It’s real job is supposed to be promoting Montreal. So, why when the last Czar stepped down was he paid over $700K in a golden parachute… that’s not part of the interests of promoting Montreal. Some non-profits work well… they really are for good reasons and some simply increase the top guy’s salary to bring the profit level down to $0. Maybe what we need is a better report card. In the US you can look up a charity and check it out. I found https://www.charityintelligence.ca for Canada, but it’s not as comprehensive as in the US, where even their tax forms are required to be public.

  We have strict guidelines on nonprofits in Canada to ensure that their status isn’t abused. And some of them were abusing it. The way the law is currently structured, it is a lot more difficult…. even the cost of your building is calculated as part of the ratio to ensure you are doing what you say you are doing.