GOVERNANCE
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IN THIS SECTION
Constituting Statutes
The Graduate Student Society is a registered not-for-profit, incorporated provincially pursuant to The Corporations Act of the Province of Ontario, including the Regulations made pursuant to the Act, and any statute or regulations that may be substituted, as amended from time to time by the Government of Ontario.
The Corporation was incorporated October 24, 1980 with Letters Patent under the name The Graduate Student Society of the University of Windsor with the Ontario Corporation Number 436045. Further to this, on April 6, 1993, the legal name of the Corporation was amended to Graduate Student Society.
Effective 2010, the constituting statue governing the incorporation and registration in the Province of Ontario was replaced by the new law, the Not-for-Profit Corporations Act. Further to this, in 2011 the Legislative Assembly of Ontario adopted Bill 184, College and University Associations Act, 2011, which explicitly dictates industry-specific rules for student associations and their actions and relationships with their members.
- Not-for-Profit Corporations Act, Ontario, 2010, S.O. 2010, c. 15
- Corporations Act, Ontario, R.S.O. 1990, c. C.38
- Bill 184, College and University Student Associations Act, 2011
- Ontario Corporations General Information Website
- Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Regulations
- Guide to the Not-for-Profit Corporations Act, 2010
Charitable Status
The Graduate Student Society is not a registered charity, as not-for-profit corporations are not granted charitable status by default in Canada, as prescribed in the Income Tax Act.
Rather, charitable status is a special status granted upon selective application, an application that the Corporation has elected not to make. Therefore, personal donations to the Corporation cannot be accepted.
Taxation
The Graduate Student Society does not reclaim sales tax paid on expenditures by virtue of financial policy. The Corporation cannot by statute, and does not by practice, generate profit or unreasonable surplus from its activities. All revenues generated categorically satisfy tax-exemption or zero-tax criteria because of the type of revenue collected (membership fees; or corporate sponsorship in exchange for marketing services – promotional representation) and further supported by the academic and community nature of the business.