Bussey Ainsworth offers assistance with governance, compliance, and disputes, from a lawyer who knows the sector from the inside.
Book an Introductory CallBussey Ainsworth provides legal counsel to churches, ministries, and Christian charities across Canada. The practice is led by our lead lawyer, Barry W. Bussey, who spent a decade as counsel to the Christian charitable sector at the national level, has argued multiple cases before the Supreme Court of Canada, earned a PhD from Leiden, and has a special passion for faith-based non-profit and charity work.
Bussey Ainsworth advises churches and Christian charities on:
Among the questions that bring faith-based organisations to the firm:
Faith-based charities are not like other organisations, and they need lawyers who understand the differences. A congregation is a community as much as a corporation. Its governance has to honour both the law and the convictions that brought it into being.
Barry has spent his career at that intersection, and he understands the particular pressures churches and ministries face: volunteer boards, denominational structures, the scrutiny that comes with religious charitable status, and the sensitivity of decisions about members, staff, and property.
For ten years Barry served as Director of Legal Affairs at the Canadian Centre for Christian Charities (CCCC), in effect a legal advisor who provided legal information to the Christian charitable sector in Canada. He advised congregations, ministries, and denominations across the country on the same questions your organisation faces.
Barry’s unique combination of credentials and faith-based legal experience is rare in Canada, making him the go-to lawyer for numerous faith-based charities across the country.
I have spent much of my life at the meeting point of faith and law. Serving the Christian charitable sector is not just work, it’s work I believe in. Churches and ministries do enormous good, often quietly and with very little to spare, and they deserve counsel who understands not only the law, but what they are trying to protect.
For ten years I served as Director of Legal Affairs at the Canadian Centre for Christian Charities. I have advised congregations and denominations of many traditions, and I have seen the same problems arise again and again. This often means I know where the difficulty lies before you have finished describing it. I look forward to putting that experience to work for your organisation.
The best place to start is a brief conversation, at no charge, about your organisation and what it needs. Barry will tell you candidly how he can help.
Or call the Peterborough office at (705) 749-0628.
We'd love to hear from you. Give us a call or send us a message below. Typically, we pick up the phone. But if we're busy, we'll get back to you within one business day.
