Montreal SPCA fundraising draws criticism

[Animal 0]

The Globe and Mail November 8, 2006

Montreal SPCA fundraising draws criticism
National pledge drive does not make clear where money ends up, animal groups
say
TU THANH HA

MONTREAL -- Several humane societies across Canada are angry with Montreal's
SPCA, saying that its countrywide fundraising campaigns are making animal
lovers outside Quebec think their donations are going to local groups.
Furthermore, The Globe and Mail has learned that Pierre Barnoti, executive
director of the Montreal SPCA, has incorporated in the United States a
society called SPCA International Inc. that will seek donations in Canada
and the U.S.
Montreal's SPCA is officially called the Canadian Society for the Prevention
of Cruelty to Animals, a name it acquired when it became the first of its
kind in Canada in 1869.
SPCAs outside Quebec complain that the Montreal society has repeatedly been
mailing to other provinces, using the name Canadian SPCA.
Fundraising appeals sent by the Montreal SPCA list local postal boxes on the
donation pledge form, so that donors in Nova Scotia would mail to a Halifax
address and those in Saskatchewan to a Moose Jaw address. The Montreal
society is also registered as a charity in Alberta, as required by local
provincial laws.
The standard Montreal SPCA fundraising letter has a Montreal address in a
corner of its first page, next to a logo saying "Canadian Society for the
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals." At the bottom is the mention "Proudly
serving the animals of Quebec since 1869."
But other agencies say the letter does not explicitly explain that donations
will go only to Montreal or that the Canadian SPCA is not a national
society.
"We're not playing games. We're very clear," Mr. Barnoti said yesterday.
He faxed The Globe one sample fundraising letter and pointed out that it
urged donors to write to Quebec premier Bernard Landry to ask for better
laws for animals.
Mr. Landry was premier until April, 2003.
When told that more recent letters couldn't have mentioned Mr. Landry, Mr.
Barnoti said "I cannot repeat every time the same letter. . . . It can't be
a cut-and-paste job."
In 1997, Mr. Barnoti was quoted in the daily La Presse, confirming that he
was getting 10 per cent of funds raised by the society.
Yesterday, Mr. Barnoti said that the 10-per-cent fee was never enacted and
that he does not get a percentage of the money raised by Montreal SPCA
campaigns.
He said Montreal's SPCA needs support from elsewhere in the country because
Quebec doesn't enjoy the kind of laws to protect animals that other
provinces have.
"The love of animals should have no border," he said, adding that he
welcomed other SPCAs in Canada to fundraise in Quebec.
"We find it quite annoying. We have a hard enough time fundraising for
ourselves," said Ray Whitney, director of the Moose Jaw Humane Society.
In Alberta, the confusion created by the Montreal's SPCA fundraising led the
Edmonton SPCA into changing its name to the Edmonton Humane Society, said
spokeswoman Diane Shannon. "It's a huge piece of why we did that."
The Edmonton Humane Society issued a communiqué yesterday warning animal
lovers that the fundraising calls they are receiving from the Canadian SPCA
-- with pictures of kittens and puppies -- are for a Quebec-only outfit.
In Halifax, the Nova Scotia SPCA has posted a similar warning on its
website. "We are not affiliated with the Canadian SPCA," it says.
According to reports filed with the Canada Revenue Agency, the Montreal SPCA
collected $2.4-million in tax-receipted donations in 2004.

[animo-aequoanimo 0]

Il a fait une levée de fonds pour 2006 avec le nom de Landry ? Franchement, avec tout le personnel qu'ils ont, ils n'ont pas le temps de se mettre à jour ? Intéressant quand même de savoir que cette lettre porte sur la faiblesse des lois.

[Animal 0]

Qui dit vrai ? Il me semble que les explications de Barnoti ont l'air crédibles...


The Montreal Gazette, Nov. 9, 2006

http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/montreal/story.html?id=b99868ff-6eff-\
4408-b45f-eaf030de7253

SPCA boss denies trickery


Official says cross-Canada fundraising will continue


Montreal's Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals says it is
sticking to its fundraising tactics, despite complaints from animal shelters
in other provinces that the organization is tricking people into donating to
it.

Under its official title, the Canadian SPCA, the Montreal animal shelter
sends out letters across Canada a few times a year seeking donations.

Shelters in other provinces ocntend the letters do not make it clear to
donors that the money is going to Montreal and not to help animals in their
areas.

Montreal SPCA executive director Pierre Barnoti was defiant yesterday,
saying the complaints will not stop his organization from sending out
letters like these.

"Why should there be borders and boundaries when it comes to saving animals
?" Barnoti said.

"I am appalled by this "Get off our turf" attitude some of these other
shelters have. We have a common goal."

The letters clearly state the SPCA's Quebec address, he said, and have a
line at the bottom printed in red, reading, "Proudly serving the animals of
Quebec since 1869".


"What could be more clear ?" he asked.

The Montreal SPCA started sending out fundraising letters to other provinces
seven years ago, when the shelter was facing bankruptcy, Barnoti said.

Other shelters say the letters don't make it clear who is receiving the
donations.

A notice titled Do You Know Where Your Money is Going ?", on the website of
the Edmonton Humane society, warns donors not to donate by mistake to the
Canadian SPCA, thinking the money would go to help animals in Alberta.

Animal shelters in Halifax and Quebec City have similar warnings on their
websites.

Barnoti makes no apologies for soliciting outside Montreal, saying his
organization's work benefits the rest of Canada, especially regarding its
campaigns against puppy mills.

"Every other province has strict laws against puppy mills except Quebec." he
said.

"So what happens is that people migrate here to set up the pupy mills and
are supplying pet stores across the country with puppies. We are saying to
the rest of Canada, "Help us solve this problem".

Barnoti said he frequently receives calls from people in other provinces
wanting to know where the money is going; when he tells them; they are
impressed by the work the Montreal SPCA is doing.

"What irks me is that the other shelters are telling me the donors are
sending in money without reading the letters properly," Barnoti said.

"Do they think their donors are stupid ? I do not think these donors are
stupid."