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Canada's charity system provides huge tax advantages. Critics say the system is being exploited and needs better controls to prevent abuse.daoleduc/istockphoto.com

Letters to the Editor should be exclusive to The Globe and Mail. Include your name, address and daytime phone number. Try to keep letters to fewer than 150 words. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. To submit a letter by e-mail, click here: letters@globeandmail.com

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‘Charity’ rules

Re Ottawa Urged To Tighten Charity Rules After Tax-Break Revelations (Oct. 26): Before rushing to judgment on donor-advised funds (DAFs) and their place in the charitable sector, it is important to provide context.

Investor Economics recently did an assessment of DAFs in Canada. It found that a) most DAF accounts are held at one of the 191 community foundations; b) the average account balance is $300,000; c) the current average disbursement rate of DAFs is about four times that required of private foundations by the Canada Revenue Agency; d) individuals and families who open DAFs are not multimillionaires but generous middle-class Canadians seeking a way to make their charitable giving less reactionary and more strategic; and e) the number of transfers from DAFs to other DAFs or private foundations is in the range of 2- to 3 per cent.

Donors using DAFs are likely to give more following the establishment of their account. As in the commercial sector of the economy, there will be those who abuse the system, but let’s make sure we celebrate the hundreds of millions of dollars that flow from DAFs to operating charities in Canada each year.

Keith Sjogren, managing director, Investor Economics, Toronto

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Using no-name charities as a tax dodge is one scandalous practice that has apparently been allowed under Canadian law. Another is positioning politically driven interest groups as “charities.” For example, in a recent letter from the Fraser Institute, I learned first-hand about “charity.”

Let me quote segments:

Dear Mr. LePan,

There is simply no question that the Premier is working from his party’s 1990s playbook, which drove B.C.’s economy into the ground. … And, if these damaging policies weren’t enough, the NDP/Green government wants to change our electoral system and make power-sharing deals between the NDP and Green parties the new norm. Thankfully, the Fraser Institute is making British Columbians aware of the dangers … I am asking for your help by supporting the Fraser Institute’s B.C. focused work with a tax-deductible, charitable contribution of $500, $250, or $100 …

It is scandalous that blatantly partisan organizations should be allowed to operate as charities.

Don LePan, Nanaimo, B.C.

Basic math test

Re Student Teachers In Ontario Will Be Required To Pass Basic Math Test (Oct. 26): As a retired teacher, I believe most of my former colleagues wouldn’t object to passing a basic math test if candidates for the Legislature (particularly those without a university education, like our Premier) had to pass the same test. Perhaps remedial courses in science to explain the effect of carbon on climate change could be arranged for those already elected.

James McCall, Toronto

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I can support having teachers pass a math test. However, passing a math test is no assurance that one can teach math.

Richard Bingham, Toronto

More overdose deaths

Re A Smart Move On Drug Sites (editorial, Oct. 23): While disaster may have indeed been averted with the announcement of a new model to deliver supervised consumption services, we are nowhere near feeling relief. At a time when overdose deaths in Ontario are at an all-time high, the Health Minister’s announcement will effectively axe low-threshold overdose prevention sites that were created in response to the urgent need for rapid roll-out of these vital services.

The new process for funding will also impose more barriers. At the same time, the decision to cap the number of sites at 21 means people who do not reside near existing or impending sites will be denied access to life-saving care. We need more of these sites and a diversity of models. A “one size fits all” approach will mean more overdose deaths and HIV, hepatitis C and other infections. That is no reason to celebrate.

Sandra Ka Hon Chu, Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, Toronto

It’s a false choice

Re Canadians Love Living In The Suburbs, So Why Aren’t We Building More Of Them? (Oct. 23): For too long, citizens have been given a false choice between densification and suburban sprawl. Yes, there is an urban bias on the part of city planners, but increasingly, everyday people are coming together to create sustainable communities. This requires engaging status quo planning processes and rethinking everything from how land is zoned, to how buildings are insured, to how enterprise is financed.

We don’t need to waste more energy defending one side of a stale template. Climate change requires us to think bigger than a stark choice between garages and lawns, or condos and concrete.

Patrick Vert, Victoria

Dress codes’ place?

Re Not So Far, Actually (letters, Oct. 26): When I was growing up in India, I attended a convent school for a short time. I vividly remember an occasion where the Sister Superior decided the school should be satisfied that the girls were wearing not just the right length of skirt, but appropriate underwear as well!

To this end, a number of girls were made to lie on their backs on the floor of the assembly hall and draw up their knees. The Sister stood at their feet so she could see what the girls were wearing as underwear. I don’t think any school official would dare do this today. You have come a long way, baby!

Ashok Sajnani, Toronto

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As a middle and high school teacher since 1986, I disagree that dress codes are about sexualizing girls. However, the offensive methods used in the Midland, Ont., Catholic school were – and they come right out of my private school years in the 1970s.

Dress codes (like other standards in institutions that are the incubators of larger society) are meant to create an environment in which the focus is neither fashion nor bodies, but brains.

Most businesses expect employees to dress for the work site. School is not the beach. It behooves adults to help young people realize that in the real world, there will be expectations and requirements – just like school.

Maribeth Adams, Kamloops, B.C.

Crown him

I can’t remember when I have agreed so much with an article in The Globe and Mail as the one written by Frank McKenna (How Canada Can Diversify Exports – Oct. 25).

I am somewhat older, slightly conservative and a bit grumpy so, over the years, I have read and criticized a lot of articles in The Globe. I agree with each and every one of Mr. McKenna’s suggestions to improve this country, everything from embracing the digital economy to dismantling supply management. The headline is a bit misleading, as it is really a manifesto on how we can massively improve Canada.

I would add one more thing we should do. Make Mr. McKenna the King (even though he’s a Liberal).

Patrick Tighe, Petawawa, Ont.

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