Cathy Hawara, the Director General of the Charities Directorate, spoke at the recent Canadian Bar Association's Charity Law Symposium on May 23, 2014 in Toronto. Doing so over the lunch break seems to be evolving as a custom since she assumed the role (initially as Acting Director) in 2009.
The Director General drew on her recent experience at an Australian conference on international charities regulators. She focused on the need for what she referred to as an "independent and effective" charities regulator in Canada. In her speech, the Director General made some interesting comments on the Canada Revenue Agency's recent focus on charities with political activities, as well as the Charities Directorate's approach to compliance. She also mentioned the Charities Directorate's IT modernization initiative, the announcement of which was welcomed by many of those working in the sector with the tabling of the federal government's 2014 Budget. The full text of the Director General's speech has now been released and can be found here: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/chrts-gvng/chrts/bt/2014-lwsympsm-eng.html.
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