Charities Must Report Board Diversity Counts

Summary#

This bill amends the Income Tax Act to make registered charities report board diversity data and to require the Minister of National Revenue to publish an annual, aggregate report. It adds a new question to the charity information return about how many directors, trustees, or officers are members of “designated groups” (as defined in the Employment Equity Act: women, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, and members of visible minorities). It limits how the Minister may use this data and sets timelines for public reporting.

• Requires every registered charity to report counts of board/officer members by designated group “to the best of its knowledge” in its annual return (Bill s.149.1(14.01); Employment Equity Act, s.3).
• Allows the Minister to revoke a charity’s registration if it fails to provide this data, following existing revocation procedures (Bill s.149.1(4.1)(c.1)).
• Limits use of the data to preparing the annual aggregate report or to deregistration procedures; not for other purposes (Bill s.149.1(16)).
• Requires an annual report by June 1 with only aggregate data; no charity or individual can be identified (new s.149.11(1)-(3)).
• Report must be tabled in both Houses of Parliament and published online (new s.149.11(3)).
• Applies to taxation years that begin on or after the first March 31 after Royal Assent; the application clause itself comes into force on the second March 31 after Royal Assent (s.4).

What it means for you#

• Registered charities

  • Must add a new item to the annual information return: the number of directors, trustees, officers, or similar officials who are in each designated group, as of the last day of the tax year (Bill s.149.1(14.01)).
  • The duty is “to the best of its knowledge,” which allows reliance on available information without certainty (Bill s.149.1(14.01)).
  • If a charity does not provide this information, the Minister may revoke its registration under the usual process (Bill s.149.1(4.1)(c.1)).
  • The new requirement applies to taxation years that begin on or after the first March 31 after Royal Assent; the application clause takes effect on the second March 31 after Royal Assent (s.4).

• Charity boards and officers

  • Boards may need to request voluntary self-identification from directors/officers to complete the counts, aligned to the four designated groups (Bill s.149.1(14.01); Employment Equity Act, s.3).
  • Data reported to the government are numeric counts only; no names or individual-level details are filed under this clause (Bill s.149.1(14.01)).

• Donors and the public

  • Will get an annual, public, aggregate report showing sector-wide counts of directors/officers and how many are in each designated group (new s.149.11(1)-(2)).
  • The report cannot identify any specific charity or any individual person (new s.149.11(2)(c)).

• Government (CRA/Minister of National Revenue)

  • Must compile the data and publish an aggregate report by June 1 each year, then table it in both Houses within 10 sitting days and post it online (new s.149.11(1), (3)).
  • May use the filed data only for the annual report or for deregistration procedures; other uses are not allowed (Bill s.149.1(16)).
  • May include additional analysis in the report if considered appropriate, while keeping confidentiality rules (new s.149.11(2)(d)).

• Timing

  • First affected taxation years: those starting on or after the first March 31 after Royal Assent (s.4).
  • The application clause comes into force on the second March 31 after Royal Assent (s.4).
  • Annual aggregate report due by June 1 for charities whose most recently completed tax year began on or after March 31 of the prior calendar year (new s.149.11(1)).

Expenses#

• Estimated net cost: Data unavailable.

• Key points

  • No direct appropriation, grants, or new fees in the bill (Bill text).
  • CRA will have administrative duties to collect, compile, table, and publish the annual report; amounts not stated (Data unavailable) (new s.149.11).
  • Charities may bear compliance costs to gather and report counts; the bill does not quantify these (Data unavailable).
  • No changes to tax rates or credits are included (Bill text).

Proponents' View#

• Improves transparency about diversity in charity leadership by requiring standardized, sector-wide counts filed annually (Bill s.149.1(14.01), new s.149.11).
• Protects privacy because the public report is aggregate only and cannot identify any charity or individual (new s.149.11(2)(c)); the Minister is also restricted in how the data can be used (Bill s.149.1(16)).
• Keeps burden modest by requiring counts “to the best of [the charity’s] knowledge,” not verified personal data, and only for directors/officers (Bill s.149.1(14.01)).
• Ensures accountability and regularity with a fixed reporting deadline (June 1) and required tabling in Parliament and online publication (new s.149.11(1), (3)).
• Encourages sector self-assessment by providing national benchmarks that charities can compare themselves against, without naming them (new s.149.11(2)(c)).

Opponents' View#

• Adds a new mandatory filing item to the annual return, which may increase administrative work, especially for small charities with volunteer boards (Bill s.149.1(14.01)).
• Sets a strong penalty for non-compliance—possible deregistration—which opponents may view as disproportionate to a data-reporting lapse (Bill s.149.1(4.1)(c.1)).
• May raise privacy and sensitivity concerns within organizations, since charities may need to ask directors/officers to self-identify for designated groups, even though public reporting is aggregate (Bill s.149.1(14.01); new s.149.11(2)(c)).
• Data quality may vary because reporting is “to the best of [the charity’s] knowledge,” which could lead to under- or over-counting if individuals choose not to self-identify (Bill s.149.1(14.01)).
• Implementation timing is complex: the application clause refers to taxation years beginning on or after the first March 31 after Royal Assent, but that clause itself comes into force on the second March 31 after Royal Assent, which could create confusion about first-year applicability (s.4).