General Membership Meeting – Special Resolution 

Karen Kamon, 

We finished reviewing the application to register a charity under the Income Tax Act sent in for qathet Art Council (the applicant), our telephone conversation of June 24, 2024, and your letter of July 17, 2024. Based on the information we received, the applicant could qualify for registration if it changes its purposes, as suggested below, within 60 calendar days. Please note that the suggestions below would be acceptable for registration, but any changes to the proposed wording may result in the applicant not qualifying to be registered as a charity and its application being denied. 

Purposes 
The purposes set out in the applicant’s amended Constitution filed under the Societies Act of British Columbia on February 24, 2022, are worded using broad and vague language that does not restrict it to activities that are considered charitable at law. 

To qualify for registration, an applicant must be established exclusively for charitable purposes and it must devote its resources to activities carried on to further those charitable purposes. We suggest that the applicant delete its purposes in its Constitution and replace them with: 

• To advance education by providing structured learning activities such as after-school art programs, drop-in programs, classes, workshops, and full-day camps dedicated to a variety of recognized art forms and styles, including, but not limited to, textile arts, literature, sculpture, painting, music, and dance. 
• To advance the public’s appreciation of the arts by producing public art exhibitions, presentations, and performance art(s) events, and by providing a forum for qualified artists to exhibit, present, or perform their artistic works through participation in such events. 
• To receive and maintain a fund or funds and to apply all or part of the principal and income therefrom, from time to time, to charitable organizations that are also registered charities under the Income Tax Act (Canada). 
• To undertake activities ancillary and incidental to the attainment of the above mentioned charitable purposes. 

We recommend that the applicant begin the process of amending its governing documents as soon as possible. As soon as we receive the amended governing documents containing the suggested wording for the purposes and we do not identify any other concerns, we will be able to grant registration. 

To proceed with these amendments, they must first be authorized by a special resolution. Once authorized by a special resolution, a society can then alter its constitution to amend its purposes by submitting a constitution alteration application through Societies Online. A society can also amend clauses in its bylaws by submitting a bylaw alteration application through Societies Online. All filings with the BC Registrar of Companies, including amendment requests, are now completed online at the following link: www.bcregistry.ca/societies/. 

Once you have formally amended the purposes as specified above, you must send us a certified copy of the altered constitution and/or altered bylaws, approved by the Registrar of Companies of B.C. 

It is our opinion that the above purposes would be acceptable for registration. However, any change from the proposed wording might not be acceptable and may result in our denying qathet Art Council’s application for registration. 

We must receive the amended governing documents within 60 calendar days of the date of this letter. If we do not, we will conclude that the applicant is abandoning its application for registration and will close our file. 

We have attached an appendix detailing all the applicant’s options. If you have any questions or require further information or clarification, do not hesitate to contact me at the telephone number below. 

Yours sincerely, 
Charities Directorate 
Canada Revenue Agency 

Attachments 
Appendix

The applicant’s options 

(a) Respond within 60 calendar days 
If the applicant chooses to respond, it must address all of our concerns within 60 calendar days of the date of this letter. 
You can send your response to this letter online using the “Submit documents” service in My Business Account. Simply enter the case number given on this letter, then select and send the relevant files. 

If the applicant feels that the information it has given us so far is enough, it must tell us so in writing within 60 calendar days of the date of this letter. We will make a final decision based on the materials we already have. If we deny registration, an applicant has the right to object if it believes we misinterpreted the facts or applied the law incorrectly. To find out how to file an objection, go to canada.ca/charities-giving and click on “Registering for charitable or other qualified donee status” followed by “Objections and appeals.” 

(b) Do not respond within 60 calendar days 
If we do not receive the applicant’s response within 60 calendar days of the date of this letter, we will conclude that it is abandoning its application and we will close our file. 

(c) Withdraw the application within 60 calendar days 
If the applicant chooses to withdraw its application, it should tell us within 60 calendar days of the date of this letter. To do so, the applicant can submit a document online using the “Submit documents” service in My Business Account. The document must explain that the applicant intends to withdraw its application and be signed and dated by someone on the board of directors/trustees or an authorized representative. 
There will be no negative consequences, and its application will remain confidential. If the applicant decides to re-apply in the future, it can find detailed information on the requirements for charitable registration at canada.ca/charities-giving. 

(d) Request non-profit organization status 
The applicant may apply for a tax exemption as a non-profit organization rather than pursue charitable registration. For more information on this topic, go to canada.ca/charities-registration and click on “Make an informed decision about becoming a registered charity.”