Wednesday, Feoruary 11, 1998 — North Shore News — 9

north shore news

___MAIL Box
Help world’s children

Dear Editor:

‘While I wish to thank you for presenting my
story on Feb. 6 (Help a matter of heart, p. 14),
I wish to stress a few very important points
about the foundation I would like to set up to
provide a cost-effective service of promoting
life-changing surgeries to children of develop-
ing countries — all by way of non-profit and
donated health-worker services.

It is not cost effective for Canadians to fund
by donation the opportunity for one child out-
side Canada to have surgery in Canada. I do
not mean to criticize any recent occurrences of
such. With similar amounts of donated money

’ we Canadians as ambassadors of health care can
be represented by a small group of medical vol-
unteers. Such volunteers could perform
approximately 150 to 180 cases in 10 days as
we did on my Ecuador trip.

By a volunteer medical group going to the
country of need, a teaching program is
installed so that the local medical statf can be
trained to do their own cases one day.

The local medical staff can be trained on

Police pay is poor

there is a symbiotic relationship

how to follow up the patients our foundation
would do. Follow-up is vital to the success of
many surgeries.

Ic is better not to remove people from their
cultural setting during surgery in order to see
the whole picture.

Many of our fellow Canadians who came
from developing countrics still have family,
friends or a desire to help their country of on-
gin, I would like to help the children there.

I would like Canadian voluntecr health care
workers represented in their own foundation,
of their own country, not other countries, We
should be proud a: 4 represent our own volun-
teer health care workers.

In short, by us Canadians reaching out to
the global health care of our children we will
set up many links which, in the long-term, will
prove to help us as Canadians.

The children equal our future. To support
the foundation project contact me by email at
reachout@netcom.ca
Fiona McMahon
North Vancouver

Stogie funds —
not wanted

Dear Editu::

. Open. leer to North
Vancouver: District. council
regarding pay rates for RCMP
in North Vancouver: .

T read with some distress in.
the paper last week that our
RCMP’ members are being
paid approximately $10,000
less than local police forces in
West Vancouver and that they
have been under a wage freeze
for the last five years.

If this is the case [ think
some dramatic change is in
order.’ T'want' the local. mem-
bers to:-be able to live in the

nmiunity. As it is now, many
. of thie officers must live out in

Maple Ridge, Mission, and

’. ¢ Surrey” because they can’t
> afford:to pay for decent hous-
ing: locally. The net: result is
regular long. commutes plus

here at a very fundamental leve!
that we, as prudent citizens,
ought to understand.-

Don't start a committee to
study the issue... Take action.
They have teen poorly treated
for five years. It ought to stop
now and we. have .to take

‘responsibility for making the
necessary changes happen.

I find it unconscionable that
these folks who do such a good
job for the community are
treated in such a shabby man-
ner. These young men and
women who.can and do place
themselves in “harm’s way” on
our behalf and can be called on
to make the ultimate sacrifice
ought to be taken better care of
by.us. :

’ Bruce Lindsay
North Vancouver

I was disturbed to see
the article in your paper

‘on Jan. 23 entitled Stogie
Smoking Marathon.

The Canadian Cancer
Society, BC and Yukon

Division, also known as

the. BC Cancer Society, is
a strong advocate ‘against
tobacco usage. We do not
accept any donations
from either tobacco relat-
ed companies or events
and we are nat the recipi-
ents of any monics from
this event.

Jan Bell-Irving
Manager, Greater
Vancouver District,
Canadian Cancer
Society

lack of accessibility |in-case of _
emergency. The stress of their
job.is enough to bear without
being ‘concerned:about paying
for a decent place to live as well
as the other necessities of life. If
Vhave.a need for their services .
L.want them to be in top form. |
*. As: was mentioned, profes-
sionalism “only goes-so far. If
seasoned; fully: trained officers
leave’ the’ force for service in -
. . other police departments, then
the experience level, the lack of
mature: officers, and morale of
the ; folks ‘left behind | suffers.
_When they suffer, we suffer. So

Dear Edito es

_- <> [owas interested to: read
- Bernard Moore’s letter in your
Jan.-14. paper, and his outrage
thar - UBC ‘students :: were
forcibly. silenced and citizens’
rights to free speech were sus-
pended...”

I -gather ‘he has heard no
public. outcry or media atten-
‘tion given -to the. so-called.
“bubble zone” laws and does-
n’t known that: for some time _
police have been called to sup-

press free speech and peace
_picketing outside" Vancouver's —
two abortuaries,” _
_ .., We are fast losing our free-
_ doms and’ should speak out
- while there is still time.

Certified Financial Planner

investment Advisor

Why should. | worry about my
“retirement fund"? Maybe the
government is going to reward
me for being.such a good citizen
all my life!. Maybe my lucky
numbers will come up on the
6/49!

Anything is possible! It’s always
- nice to have a dream. But if
wishful thinking is making you
nervous, a better choice is to
take advantage of our “value
addea” service and advice.

for “Value Added Service”, call

Daniel es fee 2oger Latta & Company Ltd.
oe 1. ie Phone: 983-2235 Fax 984-6335

ted white, m.p.

advertorial, Februrary 11/1998

CHARITIES AND YOUR MONEY

PART 1 OF 2

Shortly before Parliament recessed
for the Christmas Break, Liberal MP
John Bryden tabled with the Finance
Committee at the House of Commons
his second report on charities and non-
profit organizations. Both of John’s
reports contain such a shocking and
detailed exposé of dishonesty, deceit,
and sloppy operations in Canada’s char-

| itable and non-profit secter that it will

take two of these regular Wednesday
advertorials to share with you just 4
smalt sampling of his findings.

It may surprise you to learn that there
are an estimated 73,000 charities, and
60,000 non-profit organizations in Canada.
They take in and spend more revenue
annually than the Province of B.C., and yet
they are meaningfully ruled by just a few
paragraphs of the Income Tax Act based on
an Elizabethan statute of 1601. That
statute, further “refined” in the late
19th century, gives Revenue Canada
four principles which it uses to
describe what a charity is supposed
to have as its purpose: relief of
poverty; advancement of education;
advancement of religion; other pur
poses of benefit to the community.

This incredibly broad “definition” of what
constitutes a charity has resulted in
Revenue Canada granting charitable sta-
tus to organizations engaged in everything
from self-serving enterprises (which do little

more than provide tax free perks and well- -
| paying ‘jobs to its directors) to grouos

engaged in the funding of terrorist activities
and cults. :
AUDITING THE BOOKS |
Unfortunately, little can be done to ade-
quately investigate and report on the oper-
ations of charities because they are legally
required only to file a T1030 form with
Revenue Canada — a form which reveals
little about the money paid to executives,
perks they receive, or details about
whether any money at all was spent on
charitable work. Whilst it would be interest-
ing to be able to find out how many charity
executive directors are driving cars pur-
chased through the organizations under
their care, the Revenue Canada T1030
basically lists only the total monies in and
total monies out, and when charities fail to
provide even this minimal amount of infor-
mation, Revenue Canada has no effective
way to force compliance. Audits are rare,
but of 1,900 charities investigated by
Revenue Canada over a recent three year
period, more than 80% had to be sent “edu-
cational lettars” or formal requests for cor-
rective action. Even some well known and
widely respected charities have been found
to be engaging in completely unacceptable
practices, as a recent provincial audit of the
Burnaby Association for the Mentally
Handicapped revealed.

The audit indicated that the BAMH
receives 87% of its total revenue from the
provincial government (your tax dollars),
and also listed a litany of problems includ-
ing: over-billing the government for
$7,100 worth of services it failed to
provide; charging the government
hourly. wage rates that were not
being passed on to the employees;
the “re-allocation” of funds to pro-

| grams not approved for government
| funding; the charging of 93% of the

Association’s administrative costs
to the government; charging the
government for beds’ which
remained vacant for more than a
year at group homes; an inability to
account for staff training amounts
billed to the government; no proper
authorization and approval of
expenditures; and capital expendi-
tures in

‘Foundation,

advance of government |

approval to spend the money.

Such problems could well be an indica-
tor of a serious fack of management exper-
tise amongst directors, yet Canada’s chari-
table laws make it virtually impossible to
hold the directors of charities accountable
for the spending of a charity's funds. Acom-
mon law test has determined that “... A
director need not exhibit in the per-
formance of his duties a greater
degree of skill than may reasonably
be expected from a person of his
knowledge and experience ...” In
other words, the mismanagement of
a charity’s affairs by the directors is
acceptable as long as those direc-
tors can demonstrate that they are
incompetent. .

BECOMING A CHARITY

Becoming a charity is fairly easy. Simply
fill out the single sheet Revenue Canada
application form with the names and
addresses of the directors. jwho do rot
even have to five in Canada, be Canadian,
or prove identity), along with a description
of the charity and a declaration that the |
organization is not for the personal gain of
its members. Then file the form. with
Revenue Canada. That's it. “

One “charity” identified by John.
Bryden, the Osborn : Foundation: of
Canada, with a post office - box:
address in Toronto, lists all five of.
its trustees as. being from.|
Collinsville, Oklahoma, and appears.
to be sending all of the money it}
raises out of Canada, we know not'}:
to whom or to where. However, the }°
self proclaimed... minister, “T.L. }:
Osborn, who incorporated” the
became famous in
Tulsa for the World Museum he
built. It is filled with antiques, price-
less works of art (Reubens, Dore)
and rare automobiles (1923 Silver
Ghost) gathered from around the
world. Even if Revenue Canada has thor-
oughly investigated Mr. Osbom’s applica-
tion for charitable status though, it is highly
unlikely that they could have sefused to
grant him that status because, as men-
tioned above, just about any activity fits the
Revenue Canada definition of a charity.

John's investigation also discovered
that it is not unusual to trace a small chari-
ty to the same address as a marketer of
say, chocolate bars, which are aflegediy
being sold in support of the charity. This
taises the obvious question whether some
“charities” are being established purely. to
generate income for professional fundrais-
ers, to provide income for a manufacturer
or distributor of a product, or to provide jobs
for members of special interest groups.
For example, if there was a more
precise definition of what consti-
tutes a charity, would a registered
charity number have been given to
the Reach for Unbleached
Foundation, a “charity”. with “a
focus on consumer education and
pulp mill monitoring”???

PART 2 NEXT WEEK

Next Wednesday’ I will describe how
charities can legally avoid the 80/20 rule
which is supposed to limit their expen-
ditures on. administration to no more
than 20% of their income. A gaping loop- |
hole in our laws allows charities to use,
if they choose to, 100% of money col-
lected on administration and ZERO on
charitable activities. Is there a way in
which you tell whether your favourite |
charity is one of these? Watch for the
answer next week, and if you have hard
evidence of problems in a charitable or
non-profit organization, please contact