Federal court denies Credit Counselling Services of Atlantic Canada charitable status

Credit Counselling Services of Atlantic Canada (CCSAC) will not regain charitable status; a federal court has ruled. The organisation attempted to overturn a decision by the Minister of National Revenue, but lost its bid today.

In a decision released today, the Federal Court of Appeal confirmed a ruling that the service does not qualify as charitable activity under the definition in the legislation.

The president of CCSAC, John Eisner, responded that it's "business as usual."

Eisner added that the service has been operating without charitable status since the minister's decision was issued in 2013. He said the only difference is they can't issue charitable receipts.

"We felt that we did everything right," Eisner commented. "We felt we had to fight it [the minister's decision]," he said.

The Saint John-based service offers financial advice and debt management services for its clients through offices across Atlantic Canada. Since losing its charitable status, it has operated as a non-profit organisation.

On its website, CCSAC says it doesn't receive any government funding, and the majority of its funding comes from voluntary donations from the creditors they deal with.
 

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