Charity and Not-For-Profit Law - SCJ

The moving party brought a motion for an interlocutory injunction to prohibit the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) from rendering a final audit decision that could recommend the revocation of its charitable status.

The moving party alleged the audit was tainted by Islamophobia and violated its Charter rights.

The court dismissed the motion, finding that while there was a serious issue to be tried, the moving party failed to establish irreparable harm because the CRA had not yet made a final decision, making the anticipated harm premature and speculative.

The court also found the balance of convenience favoured the CRA due to the public interest in its regulatory role, and the moving party failed to meet the high threshold for a quia timet injunction.

The applicants, claiming to be the rightfully elected directors of a temple, applied for an order appointing a monitor over the temple's affairs and freezing its assets.

They alleged that the respondent former directors misappropriated funds and failed to hold lawful elections.

The court found the applicants' allegations of breach of trust were unsubstantiated and did not raise a serious issue to be tried.

The application was dismissed, as there was no basis to impose a monitor under the court's equitable jurisdiction.

The moving parties, the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS), brought a motion for an interim injunction to prohibit the responding party, the Carleton University Students' Association (CUSA), from proceeding with a referendum regarding disassociation from CFS.

CFS argued the referendum violated its bylaws, which dictate a specific process and timeline for such votes.

CUSA contended the referendum was merely consultative and non-binding.

Applying the RJR-MacDonald test, the court found a genuine issue to be adjudicated and that proceeding with the referendum would cause irreparable harm by subverting the regular process to which all members are bound.

The court granted the mandatory order prohibiting the referendum.

The applicants, members of an incorporated church and registered charity, sought an order compelling the church's board of directors to hold an annual general meeting (AGM) and elections, which had not occurred since 2016.

The respondents argued the court lacked jurisdiction, claiming the church was a voluntary religious association and the dispute was ecclesiastical.

The Superior Court of Justice rejected this argument, finding the church was a corporation governed by the Not-for-Profit Corporations Act, 2010, and the applicants had established legal rights under the statute.

The court ordered the holding of an AGM under the supervision of a neutral chair for the purpose of electing a new board of directors.

The applicants brought a motion for leave to deliver a further affidavit in their application seeking reinstatement of their membership in the respondent centre.

The applicants had already cross-examined the respondent's deponent but sought to introduce evidence addressing a new ground for termination allegedly raised during the cross-examination.

The court granted leave, finding the evidence potentially relevant to the applicants' claim that false information was provided to the membership, that there was no non-compensable prejudice to the respondent, and that there was a reasonable explanation for the evidence not being included initially.

The plaintiff foundation, established by a deceased donor, brought a motion for an interlocutory injunction or an order under Rule 45.02 to prevent the defendant charitable foundation from making distributions from a donor-advised fund.

The plaintiff sought to compel the defendant to make distributions according to the plaintiff's instructions.

The court dismissed the motion, finding no serious issue to be tried because a valid charitable gift requires the donor to divest all power and control over the property to the donee.

The plaintiff conceded it could not compel specific donations, and failed to establish irreparable harm or that the balance of convenience favoured an injunction.

The applicant, a not-for-profit corporation, sought declarations validating the election of its board of directors and the subsequent removal of two former directors.

The respondent former directors challenged their removal, arguing that the board's temporary retirement at the annual general meeting left the corporation without members to re-elect them, and that they were denied procedural fairness.

The court rejected the respondents' literal interpretation of the by-laws to avoid commercial absurdity, finding the board was properly elected.

The court also held that the respondents received adequate notice and were not denied natural justice.

The applicant's application was granted.

The applicant sought to be reinstated as a member and director of a not-for-profit religious corporation after being removed for allegedly misappropriating donation funds.

The respondents terminated his membership following an investigation and video surveillance.

The court dismissed the application, finding that the respondents had the authority to terminate the membership under the corporate by-laws and acted with procedural fairness.

Furthermore, relying on Supreme Court precedent, the court held it lacked jurisdiction to intervene in the membership decisions of a religious organization absent an underlying legal right.

The plaintiffs, representing a faction of a non-profit religious temple, brought a motion seeking the interim appointment of a monitor to manage the temple's financial affairs due to alleged governance and financial irregularities.

The court found that the incumbent directors served on properly constituted governance boards and acted in good faith.

Although the court identified certain irregularities, such as the failure to provide audited financial statements, it concluded that these did not warrant the intrusive appointment of a monitor.

The motion was dismissed, but the court directed the temple to prepare audited financial statements, update its corporate profile, and provide refresher training on donation counting procedures.

The applicants and respondents were the four directors of a non-share corporation operating a religious seminary.

The corporation faced severe financial difficulties, and the applicants sought to sell its main property to pay off debts.

The respondents refused to consent, resulting in a board deadlock.

The applicants applied for a court order compelling the sale under the court's inherent jurisdiction.

The court dismissed the application, applying the Supreme Court's guidance in Highwood that courts should generally avoid interfering in the internal decision-making of religious organizations, especially where no procedural unfairness is shown and alternative remedies exist.

The applicants sought declarations regarding the governance and operations of the Mount Pleasant Group of Cemeteries (MPGC), a statutory trust established in 1826.

The court granted the applicants public interest standing and found that MPGC's directors had not been validly appointed since 1987, as they failed to comply with the mandatory election procedures in the 1849 Act.

The court declared that MPGC holds its assets as a charitable trust and that its operation of visitation centres and funeral homes exceeded its statutory objects.

The court declined to order a formal investigation under the Charities Accounting Act but appointed the seven most senior directors as trustees, subject to confirmation at a public meeting.

The applicant, a dissident member of a not-for-profit corporation, sought access to the corporation's membership list, including electronic addresses, to requisition a meeting.

The corporation had withheld email addresses, citing privacy concerns.

The court found the corporation's refusal was intended to frustrate the dissident members and ordered the corporation to provide the electronic list, including email addresses.

The court also awarded $20,000 in costs to the applicant, noting that the corporation should not use its resources to place roadblocks in the way of corporate democracy.

The defendants brought a motion for summary judgment to dismiss the plaintiffs' action seeking the return of a $100,000 donation.

The plaintiffs alleged the donation was a conditional gift made for the sole purpose of purchasing a home for three young men with developmental disabilities, and claimed breach of contract and misrepresentation.

The court applied the summary judgment framework and utilized its fact-finding powers, concluding that the contemporaneous evidence and the parties' subsequent actions contradicted the plaintiffs' claim of a conditional agreement.

The court found the donation was made without strings attached and dismissed the action, awarding costs to the defendants.

The plaintiffs brought a motion for an interim interlocutory injunction to stay the election of the Board of Directors of the defendant religious temple pending the adjudication of a broader motion.

The defendants challenged the plaintiffs' standing, arguing they were not members of the temple.

The court found that at least one plaintiff had standing based on uncontradicted evidence of her long-standing devotion and the denial of membership application forms.

Applying the RJR-MacDonald test, the court granted the injunction, finding a serious issue to be tried, irreparable harm from the potential loss of the right to vote, and that the balance of convenience favoured maintaining the status quo.

La demanderesse, un organisme de bienfaisance enregistré, a contesté l'interprétation et l'application par l'Agence du revenu du Canada (ARC) du paragraphe 149.1(6.2) de la Loi de l'impôt sur le revenu.

L'ARC limitait à 10 % les ressources qu'un organisme pouvait consacrer à des activités politiques non partisanes.

La Cour a conclu que cette restriction portait atteinte à la liberté d'expression garantie par l'alinéa 2b) de la Charte, car elle empêchait la demanderesse de poursuivre ses fins de bienfaisance par la défense d'intérêts publics.

L'atteinte n'était pas justifiée au regard de l'article premier de la Charte.

La Cour a déclaré que les activités politiques non partisanes contribuant aux fins de bienfaisance doivent être considérées comme des activités de bienfaisance sans restriction de pourcentage.

The applicant donor pledged $1 million to the respondent charity to develop a workplace mental health program, payable in three installments.

After paying the first installment, the applicant became dissatisfied with the program's direction, withheld the second installment, and demanded a refund.

The applicant then applied under section 6 of the Charities Accounting Act for an order directing the Public Guardian and Trustee to investigate the charity's use of the funds.

The Superior Court of Justice dismissed the application, finding that the applicant's concerns regarding the program's vision and timeline constituted a private interest rather than a public interest.

The court noted there was no evidence of financial mismanagement to justify the costly and disruptive investigation.

The parties, former and remaining trustees of a Gurdwara, entered into Minutes of Settlement to resolve a dispute over the sale of the property.

The settlement required the remaining trustees to pay $1,734,584 into trust, representing alleged loans made by the departing trustees, subject to an audit.

A court-appointed accountant reviewed the financial records and stratified the alleged loans into three levels of evidentiary quality.

The court reviewed the accountant's report and the evidence, rejecting many of the undocumented or poorly documented loan claims.

The court determined that the departing trustees proved bona fide loans totaling $820,131.69, after deducting repayments.

The litigation involves a dispute over property owned by an unincorporated association following the expulsion of several members.

Motions were brought to declare the membership of the association and to dismiss the involvement of both the unincorporated and newly incorporated associations for lack of standing.

The court dismissed the motion for a declaration of membership, finding that factual disputes required a trial.

The court also dismissed the proceedings involving both associations, holding that the unincorporated association is not a legal entity capable of suing or being sued, and the corporate association has no interest in the litigation.

The applicants, several humane societies, challenged the governance model of the respondent provincial animal welfare society.

After the respondent successfully resisted the application following a membership vote, the parties sought costs.

The applicants argued they should be shielded from costs as public interest litigants.

The court rejected this argument, finding the dispute was primarily about internal governance and control rather than a matter of public importance.

The court apportioned costs based on the stages of litigation and ordered the applicants (excluding one that withdrew) to pay $100,000 in costs to the respondent.

The plaintiff religious corporation sought repayment of funds raised by its congregation that were used by the defendants to purchase and renovate a new, larger place of worship under a newly incorporated entity.

The plaintiff also sought repayment for a mortgage placed on its original property to fund its conversion into a funeral home.

The court dismissed both the plaintiff's claims for breach of trust, breach of fiduciary duty, and conversion, as well as the defendants' counterclaim for the value of improvements.

The court found that the fundraising and property transition were done with the knowledge and support of the original directors, and both parties ultimately benefited from the respective properties.