Charity registration revocations and errata

Summary#

The Canada Revenue Agency published a set of notices about the registration status of many charities under the Income Tax Act. The Gazette item also reports a decision by the Canadian International Trade Tribunal that a procurement complaint by Cistel Technology Inc. was not valid. The Canada Gazette entry is dated January 14, 2023.

What it does#

• Corrects earlier publications (errata) where notices of intention to revoke a charity’s registration were printed by mistake. The corrected items name specific charities and business numbers in the Gazette.
• Publishes notices of proposed revocation of registration for specific charities for failing to meet parts of the Income Tax Act. The notices state that revocation is effective on the date the notice is published in the Gazette.
• Publishes notices that accept requests from charities to have their registration voluntarily revoked. Dozens of charities are listed by name and business number in the Gazette.
• Reports the Tribunal’s determination (File PR-2022-038) that the complaint by Cistel Technology Inc. about Solicitation 1000228054 by the Department of Health was not valid. The Tribunal’s decision date is January 3, 2023.

Who's affected#

• The many charities named in the notices and their boards or administrators. Some are affected by proposed or final revocations; others were affected by errata (corrections to earlier notices).
• Donors and local communities tied to those charities, who may rely on a group’s registered status for tax receipts or programs.
• Cistel Technology Inc. and the Department of Health, and potentially other firms that bid on the same procurement, because the Tribunal dismissed Cistel’s challenge to the handling of the contract.

Why it matters#

• A registered charity’s revocation changes its tax status and its ability to issue official donation receipts. The Gazette notices make those changes (or corrections) public and, for items that state it, say the revocation takes effect on publication.
• Errata matter because they reverse or correct earlier public notices — a charity named in an erratum may not actually be losing registration as earlier reported.
• The Tribunal decision matters for procurement transparency and for the parties involved: the complaint was not upheld, so the procurement outcome the complaint challenged was not changed by the Tribunal.