What's good isn't necessarily charitable (Revenue Canada's position on basic questions about charity).

• Author: Hunter, Laird

One of the themes of this column is the disparity between what most people consider charitable and its legal meaning. It is Revenue Canada's unfortunate lot in life to be the keeper of the legal gates. For many years, trying to find out Revenue Canada's position on basic questions about charity has been a sophisticated shell game. Just when you think you know where the pea is located, the shells are expertly reshuffled.

A recent Revenue Canada publication goes a long way to change that situation. RC4107 (Draft for public comment) Registered Charities: Education, Advocacy, and Political Activities reviews the Department's position on the meaning of education, advocacy and political activities. And while many will be surprised at what they read, with this information now clearly and publicly available (http://www.rc.gc.ca/dwdrink/rc4107ed.htm), no one should be surprised if an application to register as a charity is refused.

The draft explains the guidelines provided by the courts and the Income Tax Act that Revenue Canada follows to decide whether,

* an organization's activities advance education in the charitable sense; and

* an organization's advocacy and political activities are acceptable.

What Kind of Education Is Charitable?

The Draft says, [t]he courts consider an activity as educational in the charitable sense if it involves formal training of the mind or formal instruction, or if it improves a useful branch of human knowledge. Several examples are provided:

* establishing and operating schools, colleges, universities, and other similar institutions;

* establishing academic chairs and lectureships;

* providing scholarships, bursaries, and prizes for scholastic achievement;

* undertaking research in some field of knowledge (the research must expand knowledge in that field, and the results must be made available to the public).

The draft then examines a critical question: can simply providing information be charitable? The short answer is no. The draft observes, "[t]here is an important difference between educating people in the charitable sense, and simply informing them. The courts do not consider it educational to offer general and selected information and opinions that do not contribute to a full examination of a subject, since it lacks the necessary degree of training or instruction." To be educational, an activity must be more than merely presenting information. Education in the charitable sense, as understood by Revenue Canada...