Charity Revocations and Bank Swallow Protections

Summary#

This Canada Gazette page (published July 2, 2022) collects short notices from several federal bodies. It announces: the revocation of registration for a small group of charities, routine Canadian Radio‑television and Telecommunications Commission postings, a Parks Canada notice that Bank Swallow critical habitat in several national parks will gain formal protection after 90 days, and a Public Service Commission decision allowing a public servant to run in a provincial election on October 3, 2022.

What it does#

• Canada Revenue Agency — under the Income Tax Act, the CRA says a number of charities asked to have their registered status revoked because they merged or consolidated. The notice lists the charities whose registrations are proposed to be revoked and says the revocations are effective on the publication date. The charities named include:

  • TRANSFIGURATION LUTHERAN CHURCH (Business number 119268472RR0001), Hamilton, ON
  • THE CATHOLIC COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF WATERLOO REGION (130375124RR0001), Waterloo, ON
  • ANDREW CONGREGATION OF JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES (140784448RR0002), Andrew, AB
  • HAPPY VALLEY CONGREGATION OF JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES (747602084RR0001), Happy Valley‑Goose Bay, NL
  • HERITAGE SPANISH CONGREGATION OF JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES (757607510RR0001), Brampton, ON
  • VICTORIA PARK SPANISH CONGREGATION OF JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES (765360912RR0001), Saskatoon, SK
  • ONTARIO ASSOCIATION FOR SUICIDE PREVENTION (868535667RR0001), Williamstown, ON
  • SELKIRK ABORIGINAL REDEMPTION CENTRE CHURCH (869053082RR0001), Selkirk, MB

• Canadian Radio‑television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) — posts a reminder that its full decisions and proceedings are on its website and lists a recent application and decisions. For example, an application from Dufferin Communications Inc. for CFWC‑FM (Brantford, ON) had a submission deadline of July 18, 2022. Recent CRTC items and decision numbers published in the period are also listed.

• Parks Canada Agency — notifies that critical habitat for the Bank Swallow (Riparia riparia), as identified in its recovery strategy, will be subject to subsection 58(1) protections of the Species at Risk Act starting 90 days after publication. The habitat areas named are within several national parks (for example, Banff, Jasper, Kootenay, Kluane, Rouge National Urban Park, and others listed in the notice).

• Public Service Commission of Canada — granted permission and a leave of absence so Pierre‑Benoît Fortin, a National Defence technical services officer, can seek nomination and be a candidate in the provincial electoral district of Champlain in the October 3, 2022 Quebec election.

Who's affected#

• Donors, volunteers, and beneficiaries of the eight charities named — those charities will no longer be registered charities as of the publication date.
• Broadcasters, applicants, and members of the public who follow CRTC proceedings — the notice points to where to find documents and gives deadlines for interventions (e.g., July 18, 2022 for one listed application).
• People and activities in and near the national parks named where Bank Swallow critical habitat is identified — park managers, developers, local governments, and recreation users may face restrictions tied to the habitat protection once it takes effect in 90 days.
• Pierre‑Benoît Fortin, his employer (National Defence), and voters in the Champlain electoral district in Quebec — the public servant was permitted to run and to take unpaid leave during the election period.

Why it matters#

• Charity revocations affect tax receipts and the ability of donors to claim charitable tax credits. If you give to or deal with one of the listed charities, you may want to check the charity’s current status and records.
• The CRTC notice is mainly administrative, but it flags a specific deadline (July 18, 2022) for public input on a radio licence application; interested local listeners or competitors may still have had time to comment then.
• The Parks Canada notice signals that protections for Bank Swallow habitat will become enforceable after 90 days, which can change what activities (construction, earthmoving, certain recreation) are allowed where nests and nesting banks occur.
• The Public Service Commission item shows how public servants can get permission and leave to run in elections. That matters locally to voters and to the public service employer because it affects staffing and candidate availability.