Light City Church in Fort Erie loses charitable status

An Ontario church is the latest in a string of organizations connected to a Niagara Region pastor to have its charitable status revoked because of what tax officials describe as serious breaches of Canadian tax law.

Light City Church of Fort Erie, Ontario, lost its status on November 15 after an audit by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) uncovered issues including conferring undue and private benefits, failing to devote its resources to charitable activities and having an ineligible individual exert control over its operations.

That ineligible individual is pastor Iain MacDonald, according to an October 7 revocation letter obtained by the IJF (Investigative Journalism Foundation). MacDonald has previously been accused of receiving personal benefits in connection with another charity, including international vacations and the use of a motorcycle.

In all, he was a director at two other Ontario churches that have had their charitable status revoked after audits by the CRA.

The letter announcing the intention to revoke Light City’s registration says the auditors’ findings “demonstrate a repeated pattern of similar non-compliance” to those uncovered at Victory Christian Centre, one of the other revoked churches.

“Given that lain MacDonald was previously cautioned, it is our view that he knowingly participated in non-compliance with the Light City Church,” the letter reads.

During the earlier audit of Victory Christian Centre, CRA officials found charity funds had been used to pay the personal expenses of some directors, according to the tax agency’s revocation letter in that case.

That includes gas and maintenance expenses for a motorcycle MacDonald said was given to him by the congregation. Payroll records indicated the bike had been transferred to MacDonald for $1, which “was substantially less than the fair market value,” the letter says.

The audit also points to trips MacDonald and his family took to Algonquin Park, Florida and Cyprus, paid for using church funds. Expenses on the Cyprus trip included spa treatments and men’s jewelry, according to the CRA, while even MacDonald acknowledged that one trip to Florida was a family vacation.

“It is our position that these trips and the expenses associated with them are personal in nature and constitute a non-charitable use of the organization’s funds, as well as representing an undue benefit to the directors and/or their families,” the letter says.

At the time of that audit, MacDonald was already considered an ineligible individual because of his position as director of Gateway City Church, which had its status revoked in 2013. Gateway’s challenge of that revocation was dismissed by the Federal Court of Appeal.

The Light City revocation letter notes that MacDonald was not officially a director of Light City at the time of the audit of 2020-21 records, but he was still “heavily involved” in several aspects of the charity. “For example, lain MacDonald signs the donation receipts and cheques, has access to the bank accounts and is present in the board meetings.”

In a December 6, 2024 response to the auditors’ findings included in the letter, Light City denied that MacDonald had any level of control over the charity, and said his signature was on receipts because of an error with auto-sign software. It took issue with many of the CRA’s allegations.

Neither Light City nor MacDonald responded to requests for comment.

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