GrumpyCanadian You misunderstand. A charity is under no obligation to provide a receipt if an individual donation is less than the limit they set, usually $20. Nor are they obligated to track cumulative donations.
OTOH, almost all charities to track individual donations of more than their limit, because it is to their advantage to do so.
A person who donates $20 in an identifiable envelope every week on a church offering plate will not receive a weekly tax receipt but a cumulative donation at the end of the year.
A single occasion donor of a substantial donation of $500 will receive a receipt for that amount. A donor of a major gift to a charity of $50,000 either when alive or as an estate bequest will receive a single donation receipt.
A regular donation by automatic fund transfer of $20/mo or $240/year is from a dependable, reliable donor. That can and will be receipted cumulatively. That’s why charities want you to sign up for regular, monthly donations. You become a funding stream for them.
Donating a few cents from rounding here and there may add up, but it’s not a reliable donation base or funding stream. Receipting such small amounts individually costs more than the donation. It also fails the CRA requirement that a charitable donation must be a free will donation. That’s why you are asked every single time at the grocery store. Metro does the same thing and I think the stores under the Sobey’s flag also do it. I suspect that this case is more likely a programming error on the part of someone who doesn’t know the CRA rules and the error was noticed.
I started my working career with Dominion Stores, bagging groceries and loading vehicles in parcel pick-up. In those days Dominion had a strict “No Tips” policy. People would leave cash in the trunk of their cars, expecting us to take the money. We were told not to touch the money, lest we be accused of theft. If offered a tip, we were were instructed to decline gracefully, smile and say, “It’s part of Dominion’s service, sir or ma’am.”. Getting caught accepting tips was a fast track to dismissal. We were paid well in those days, too. It started at minimum wage, but we received regular increases beyond the provincial minimum.
Expecting to bag groceries for a charitable donation is wrong. It’s a service in return for a donation. That’s very frowned upon by the CRA. If that’s the employee attitude, management hasn’t got a clue. Charitable donations, like tips, are always a free will decision.