UPDATE: June 18th 2016
The CEAF Claims Administration process is closed.
All claims will be adjudicated based on the information and documentation submitted to us by the Court-ordered deadline of June 17, 2016.
Information and documentation submitted after June 17, 2016 will not be considered. This includes mail, email, phone calls and all manner of communication.
NO EXTENSIONS OR INDULGENCES WILL BE GRANTED FOR ANY REASON.
Notice of Certification and Settlement Approval – Dec 8 2015
Settlement Benefit Notice and Claim Form
Opt-Out Form
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s)
Christian groups to pay $1.5 million to settle tax plan lawsuit
Endorsement of Justice Perell – Dec 8th 2015
Settlement Agreement – Dec 3rd 2015
Overview of Claim
A Statement of Claim was issued in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Toronto on August 29, 2013, proposing a class action against the Christian Economic Assistance Foundation (“CEAF”) and Ontario Alliance of Christian Schools Societies (“OACS”) in connection with the CEAF School Support Program (“SSP”). The claim seeks damages of $5 million, plus punitive damages. The action has been commenced under the Class Proceedings Act, 1992, S.O. 1992, c.6, as amended. The Statement of Claim alleges that CEAF designed, developed and promoted the SSP, which program operates to purportedly increase the tax credit available to families paying tuition at Ontario Christian schools. The SSP characterizes what are truly and properly tuition payments for students to attend Ontario Christian Schools, as grants in order to generate charitable donation tax receipts and concomitant tax credits. The SSP was endorsed by OACS and has been so endorsed since 1985. CRA recently disallowed the charitable donation tax credits for participation in the SSP for 2009 and 2010 years. CRA will disallow charitable donation tax credits for 2011 and 2012 as well. Participants became liable to CRA for interest charges and additional taxes on income tax filing reassessments. The Board of Directors of CEAF recently put a moratorium on the SSP after CRA’s reassessments of participants. The plaintiff participated in the SSP for the taxation years 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012, in connection with the attendance of his son at John Knox Christian School. The Statement of Claim contains allegations which have yet to be proven in Court. We are compiling a database of individuals who participated in the SSP for the taxation years 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012. If you participated in the CEAF SSP and are interested in obtaining more information, we would ask that you please contact us. We are not tax lawyers and do not give tax advice. Participants in the CEAF SSP should obtain their own tax advice from an accountant or a tax lawyer in respect of Canada Revenue Agency re-assessments. We believe, however, that in most cases the advice that will be given will be that CEAF SSP participants should file a Notice of Objection with CRA to preserve their rights. Notices of Objection must be filed within 90 days of CRA re-assessments. Further, we believe that the prudent course-of-conduct in most circumstances is for CEAF SSP participants to pay to CRA the amounts owing by way of re-assessment in order to avoid additional interest charges.
Documents
Hamilton Spectator Article – Christian groups to Pay $1.5 million to settle tax plan lawsuit Notice of Certification and Settlement Approval Endorsement of Justice Perell Notice of Certification and Settlement Approval Hearing Statement of Claim
Contact Us
If you would like more information regarding this claim or wish to be added to our database of claimants, you may e-mail us at: CEAF@shlaw.ca You can contact us directly by telephone at Scarfone Hawkins LLP at 905-526-4395. You can contact us by fax at 905-523-5878. Due to the volume of inquiries, please allow one week for a response.
