Email Update on Federal Court Ruling
Email Update on Federal Court Ruling
Recently, we received the Judgment from the Federal Court of Appeal on our appeal of the decision of the Federal Court (in November 2024) which had denied our request for an interim retraction of the publication of JNF Canada’s charitable status (our request to temporarily retain our status until our underlying main appeal is heard). This week, the Federal Court of Appeal dismissed our appeal, concluding that the Federal Court did not have jurisdiction over our request that the Canada Revenue Agency’s (CRA) actions deprived JNF Canada of procedural fairness.
The merits of our case – our arguments as to why the process afforded to us lacked procedural fairness – have still not been ruled on.
While we are, of course, disappointed by this result, and while it is not the result we had expected, we always knew it was a possibility. For this reason, we have been actively planning next steps.
When the revocation of our charitable status was published in the Canada Gazette on August 10, 2024, we indicated that we had been blindsided. This is because in 2019 the CRA clearly and explicitly assured JNF Canada that the CRA "would not proceed with a revocation until JNF had exhausted their appeals process in Federal Court of Appeal or Supreme Court of Canada.” This approach was consistent with past practice of the CRA as reflected in its policies, publications and internal communications and we relied on this assurance in our decision-making.
It is also important to emphasize that over the past decade JNF Canada has attempted to engage without success with the CRA in the hope of finding a mutually acceptable path forward. Approximately two weeks ago, JNF Canada made a settlement offer in advance of this hearing, which was rejected without a counteroffer or any type of dialogue. We urge the CRA, under the leadership of the newly appointed Honourable Wayne Long Secretary of State, Canada Revenue Agency and Financial Institutions, to engage with us in the hope of our arriving at a mutually satisfactory agreement.
In looking ahead, JNF Canada will continue to challenge the CRA’s revocation of JNF’s charitable status and its decision to publish notice of the revocation when it did in 2024. We have a multi-pronged strategy in place which will ensure that all reasonable legal processes are engaged to protect JNF Canada’s rights.
While the court ruling was surprising and disappointing, please rest assured that we remain committed to helping address the needs of Israelis during these troubling times and to pursuing justice through the judicial process.
Sincerely,
Nathan Disenhouse, President, JNF Canada
Lance Davis, CEO, JNF Canada
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