Hidden contracts: A danger in charity and not-for-profit governance

July 16, 2021 | David Tang | Toronto

The Lawyer's Daily

David Tang writes on the role of contracts in voluntary organizations for the Lawyer’s Daily:

Contracts or covenants are a central concept in many the world’s main religions, in particular the Abrahamic Covenant ones, Judaism, Christianity and Islam.  Today’s North American secular culture is similarly attracted to agreements as the basis for mutual activities, whether in government or in nonprofit movements.  Given their prevalence, it is not uncommon to find hidden contracts in religious settings, in the form of joint resolutions or covenants between not only God and an individual but between co-religionists.

Voluntary organizations should consider what the Supreme Court of Canada has recently said about the role of contracts in these organizations, particularly religious ones.

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