Advisory Committee on the Charitable Sector adds four new members, new co-chair, but still lacking “youth leaders”

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Four new members have been appointed to the Advisory Committee on the Charitable Sector, which some hope will move the committee in new directions.

“The members of the ACCS represent a wide range of perspectives and expertise,” said Diane Lebouthillier, Minister of National Revenue. “These individuals are leaders who have made significant contributions to the charitable sector in Canada.”

Althea Arsenault, Elisabeth Baugh, Minnie Karanja and Kevin McCort have joined the 15 member committee, while inaugural co-chairs Bruce MacDonald and Hilary Pearson will stay on in the respective roles of transitional co-chair and past co-chair.

Existing committee member, Sheherazade Hirji, has been named as a new co-chair and will serve a two-year term in that role. Describing the appointment as an “honour,” Hirji said she expects the committee will meet shortly to discuss priorities and build on work done by previous committee members.

“We will also want to integrate new ideas and additional suggestions from the newly appointed members,” she said. “Any contribution we can make individually and collectively to strengthening the charitable sector in Canada is something that all of us value deeply.”

Newly appointed member Minnie Karanja said she plans to bring her lived experience as an immigrant woman of African descent to the advisory role. Born and raised in Kenya, Karanja has worked in the international development sector in Africa and is currently director of government relations and public policy at the Network for the Advancement of Black Communities.

“I look forward to working with all members of the ACCS to influence regulatory changes that are going to lead to an equitable charitable sector,” she said. “I’m particularly interested in advancing efforts around collecting and tracking data for the sector and increasing diversity within the sector.”

Some in the charitable sector have criticized the advisory committee, which was founded in 2019, for lacking diversity. Recent appointments go a long-way to making the committee more representative, said Leanne Burton, director of philanthropic services at the MakeWay foundation, but some key problems remain.

“I am still concerned that the advisory committee is populated with primarily boomers and gen Xers who are situated in positions of enduring privilege by virtue of the big organizations that they represent,” Burton said. “Where are the lesser-known youth leaders who advocate for systems of equity in the sector?” 

She hopes the committee will turn to the work of the Charity Insights Canada Project, a five-year-long study led by Carleton University, for guidance on important issues during their mandate.

Hirji noted committee members are appointed through an open-call process managed by the Ministry of National Revenue, but believes new appointments have taken feedback from the sector into account.

“There appears to be a range of diversity as defined in its multiple forms, including experience and fresh perspectives in the sector; local, national and global experience; geographic and regional experience; different communities represented; gender and background,” she said. “As was done previously, we will reach out and consult with others as we develop our work to ensure that multiple voices are integrated into the committee’s work.”

To date, the Advisory Committee on the Charitable Sector has published three reports containing a range of recommendations on issues facing registered charities, such as the disbursement quota.

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