Author Archives: Kathryn Chan

About Kathryn Chan

Dr. Kathryn Chan is an Associate Professor at the University of Victoria Faculty of Law (Canada), where she teaches Non-Profit Sector Law, Administrative Law, Constitutional Law, and Law and Religion. Between 2009 and 2013, she undertook doctoral research on comparative charity regulation as a Trudeau Foundation Scholar at the University of Oxford. Her first book, The Public-Private Nature of Charity Law, was published by Hart Bloomsbury in November 2016.

Church of Atheism of Central Canada v MNR: Charitable Status for Atheists and the Triviality of Religious Freedom Infringements

By: Kathryn Chan & Howard Kislowicz

PDF Version: Church of Atheism of Central Canada v MNR: Charitable Status for Atheists and the Triviality of Religious Freedom Infringements

Case Commented On: Church of Atheism of Central Canada v MNR, 2019 FCA 296 (CanLII)

On October 29, the Supreme Court of Canada denied leave to appeal in Church of Atheism of Central Canada v MNR, 2019 FCA 296 (CanLII), a charitable registration appeal that raised questions about the constitutionality of according tax privileges to a class of “religious” charities in Canada. This result is unsurprising. The decision of the Federal Court of Appeal was unanimous and the Church of Atheism was not represented by counsel. The evidentiary record was probably sparse, since the evidentiary record in charitable registration appeals is limited to the documents in the Canada Revenue Agency’s file at the time that registration is denied. Nevertheless, Church of Atheism of Central Canada v MNR raised important legal issues that affect the largest segment of Canada’s charitable sector. This post discusses several issues that are likely to re-emerge in a future case.

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