“11) Section 149.‍1 of the Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (10): Public policy activities (10.‍1) Subject to subsections (6.‍1) and (6.‍2), public policy dialogue and development activities carried on by an organization, corporation or trust in support of its stated purposes shall be considered to be carried on in furtherance of those purposes and not for any other purpose.”

“The Government has pledged to allow charities to do their work on behalf of Canadians free from political harassment, and promised to clarify the rules governing political activity, with an understanding that charities make an important contribution to public policy. An expert panel was created to study the issue of political activities by charities, and in 2017 this panel provided a series of recommendations to the Government based on consultations held with charities. The Government will provide a response to this report in the coming months.”

“The Report presents the Panel’s recommendations, which are designed to clarify and broaden the ability of registered charities to engage in political activities in support of their charitable purposes, while maintaining an absolute prohibition on partisan political activities. We believe that our recommendations would preserve the ability of the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) to meet its regulatory objectives. The Report calls for changes to the current administrative and legislative framework governing what is currently termed “political activities” of charities, namely: the policy and administration of the provisions of the Income Tax Act (ITA) relating to charities, under the jurisdiction of the CRA; and the ITA, falling under the jurisdiction of the Department of Finance Canada.”

“Service excellence is a top priority for the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). Canadians deserve high-quality services delivered in a way that makes them feel respected and valued. Budget 2016 proposes $185.8 million over five years, starting in 2016–17, and $14.6 million ongoing for the CRA to address the Government’s commitments to service excellence through a number of initiatives. […] Pertaining to rules governing charities and their political activities, the CRA, in consultation with the Department of Finance, will engage with charities through discussions with stakeholder groups and an online consultation to clarify the rules governing the political activities of charities.”