News To You Canada v. Minister of National Revenue, 2011 FCA 192

• Judge: Nadon, Layden-Stevenson and Mainville, JJ.A.
• Court: Federal Court of Appeal (Canada)
• Case Date: May 04, 2011
• Jurisdiction: Canada (Federal)
• Citations: 2011 FCA 192;(2011), 421 N.R. 184 (FCA)

News To You Can. v. MNR (2011), 421 N.R. 184 (FCA)

MLB headnote and full text

Temp. Cite: [2011] N.R. TBEd. JL.011

News To You Canada (appellant) v. Minister of National Revenue (respondent)

(A-75-10; 2011 FCA 192)

Indexed As: News To You Canada v. Minister of National Revenue

Federal Court of Appeal

Nadon, Layden-Stevenson and Mainville, JJ.A.

June 7, 2011.

Summary:

The appellant appealed from the refusal of the Minister of National Revenue to register it as a charitable organization under s. 248(1) of the Income Tax Act.

The Federal Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal.

Income Tax - Topic 7533

Exemptions - Particular exemptions - Charitable organizations and foundations - News To You Canada appealed from the refusal of the Minister of National Revenue to register it as a charitable organization under s. 248(1) of the Income Tax Act - The appellant submitted that its purposes fell under the second head of charity in Commissioners For Special Purposes of The Income Tax v. Pemsel (U.K.H.L.), the advancement of education - Alternatively, the appellant submitted that its purposes came under the fourth head in Pemsel, certain other purposes beneficial to the community - The Federal Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal - The appellant's purposes did not meet the expanded notion of advancement of education as set out in Vancouver Society of Immigrant and Visible Minority Women v. M.N.R. (S.C.C.) - Although the production and dissemination of in-depth news and public affairs programs might improve the sum of communicable knowledge about current affairs, such activities were not sufficiently structured for educational purposes - Nor did the appellant's purposes come within the fourth head in Pemsel - The court stated, inter alia, "in order to be charitable, the appellant's purposes must be of special benefit to the community, with an eye to society's current social, moral, and economic context. The appellant's purposes do not meet this requirement. Though I agree that the production and dissemination of in-depth news and public affairs programs may improve awareness of current affairs, I do not consider these purposes alone to be in the nature of the 'special' benefit required of a charitable organization".

Cases Noticed:

Commissioners for Special Purposes of the Income Tax v. Pemsel, [1891] A.C. 531 (H.L.), consd. [para. 6].

Native Communications Society of B.C. v. Minister of National Revenue, [1986] 3 F.C. 471; 67 N.R. 146 (C.A.), consd. [para. 6].

Vancouver Regional FreeNet Association v. Minister of National Revenue, [1996] 3 F.C. 880; 199 N.R. 223 (F.C.A.), refd to. [para. 6].

Vancouver Society of Immigrant and Visible Minority Women v. Minister of National Revenue, [1999] 1 S.C.R. 10; 234 N.R. 249, consd. [para. 10].

A.Y.S.A. Amateur Youth Soccer Association v. Canada Revenue Agency, [2007] 3 S.C.R. 217; 367 N.R. 264; 2007 SCC 42, consd. [para. 13].

N.D.G. Neighbourhood Association v. Minister of National Revenue (1988), 85 N.R. 73; 88 D.T.C. 6279 (F.C.A.), consd. [para. 20].

Aid/Watch Inc. v. Commissioner of Taxation, [2010] HCA 42 (Aust. H.C.), consd. [para. 20].

Statutes Noticed:

Income Tax Act, R.S.C. 1985 (5th Supp.), c. 1, sect. 248(1) [para. 1].

Counsel:

Blake Bromley, for the appellant;

Jasmine Sidhu, for the respondent.

Solicitors of Record:

Blake Bromley, Vancouver, B.C., for the appellant;

Myles J. Kirvan, Deputy Attorney General of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, for the respondent.

This appeal was heard on May 4, 2011, at Vancouver, British Columbia, before Nadon, Layden-Stevenson and Mainville, JJ.A., of the Federal Court of Appeal. The following judgment of the Court of Appeal was delivered at Ottawa, Ontario, by Mainville, J.A., on June 7, 2011.