National

Federal government plans to extend deadline for charitable donation tax deductions

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 30 Dec, 2024 04:42 PM

The federal government plans to extend the deadline for claiming charitable donations on tax returns through to the end of February.

The announcement from Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc comes nearly a week after the premiers called on Justin Trudeau's government to make the move.

A statement from LeBlanc's office says the extension will help ease the effects of the four-week Canada Post strike.

We’re extending the deadline for making donations eligible for tax support to Feb. 28, 2025 - helping Canadian charities, who were impacted by the Canada Post mail stoppage, continue to carry out their vital work. Learn more: https://t.co/gOaZV28p2J
— Dominic LeBlanc (@DLeBlancNB) December 30, 2024

Charities reported major declines in mail-in donations during what is typically their busiest time of year, saying the strike prevented donors from sending cheques the old-fashioned way.

The Salvation Army, for example, reported a drop in holiday donations of more than 50 per cent this year. It welcomed the federal government's decision in a written statement Monday.

The Finance Department says the government will introduce legislation to make the changes once Parliament resumes in the new year.

MPs are set to return Jan. 27, but it is unclear how long the Liberal minority government will continue to have the confidence of the House.

Prev Next

MORE National ARTICLES

Dozens of criminal charges laid against 3 people in an alleged fraudulent bank-draft scheme

Dozens of criminal charges have been laid against three people in an alleged fraudulent bank-draft scheme that targeted vehicle businesses for what police say was about 850-thousand dollars in losses. R-C-M-P in Richmond say their officers began an investigation in January over allegations that forged bank drafts were used to purchase high-end vehicles, including B-M-W's, Mercedes-Benz and others valued at between 33-thousand and 103-thousand dollars.

Dozens of criminal charges laid against 3 people in an alleged fraudulent bank-draft scheme

4 arrested in drug trafficking investigation

Mounties in Burnaby say four people have been arrested and large amounts of drugs and cash have been seized following a four-month interprovincial drug trafficking investigation. They say officers executed two search warrants on properties in Coquitlam and Surrey and seized more than 95-hundred Hydromorphone pills believed to be diverted prescription pills, as well as other substances including more than a kilogram of suspected cocaine.

4 arrested in drug trafficking investigation

Freeland finds safety in numbers on digital sales tax

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland isn’t showing signs of worry that the U.S. can now launch a trade challenge against the Liberal government's controversial digital services tax. The Liberals are slapping a three-per-cent tax on the Canadian revenues of digital giants, which will affect major U.S. tech companies such as Google and Apple.

Freeland finds safety in numbers on digital sales tax

Lab confirms Canada's first case of avian flu infection in humans in B.C.

Canada's Public Health Agency has confirmed that a British Columbia teenager hospitalized last Friday is the country's first ever human case of domestically acquired avian flu. The agency said in a statement Wednesday that testing at Canada's National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg confirms the teen did contract the H5N1 avian flu, the same strain related to viruses found in B.C. flocks in an ongoing outbreak at poultry farms.

Lab confirms Canada's first case of avian flu infection in humans in B.C.

Tributes to John Horgan as B.C. New Democrat members are sworn in

Former British Columbia premier John Horgan loomed large over the swearing-in ceremony Wednesday for 47 New Democrat members of the legislature, a day after his death. Dick said Horgan was a "friend of the people," while Legislature Clerk Kate Ryan-Lloyd paid tribute to Horgan for his service to the people of B.C.

Tributes to John Horgan as B.C. New Democrat members are sworn in

Build vaccine stockpile, use wastewater testing for H5N1 bird flu, experts urge

Health Canada has authorized three influenza vaccines that could be used if bird flu became a pandemic, the agency says. The federal government also has an agreement with vaccine manufacturer GSK for domestic vaccine production that could be accelerated if needed, the Public Health Agency of Canada told The Canadian Press in an email.