An Open Letter to the Jewish Community

The Kashruth Council of Canada (COR) would like to initiate a dialogue with the community about our services and in the interests of transparency, discuss our fee structure, our business model and our origins.

COR is a not for profit registered charity dedicated to serving our community by providing kosher supervision. COR traces its origins back to 1952 when a group of committed lay and rabbinic leaders formed an organization that would look after the community’s kosher needs. This effort was done in concert with the Canadian Jewish Congress and “Congress” looked after many of COR’s administrative office functions.

As the food industry and its supply chain grew in complexity, so did the demands of effective kosher certification. COR was growing at a rapid rate which made the job of effective management by Congress difficult, and as a result, it was decided that COR should become its own legal entity. In 2000 the Kashruth Council of Canada was incorporated as a not for profit corporation.

During the latter 30 of the 50 years when COR was under the auspices of Congress, COR’s practice was to operate with a small annual surplus for contingencies. So, a $20,000 annual surplus for 30 years invested at reasonable returns yielded over one million dollars. Congress realized that building an organization would require significant start-up costs so the cash reserves that COR had accumulated were earmarked for these expenses. New premises were rented, additional office staff was hired, accounting systems were developed and software was developed.

These start-up funds were put to good use on behalf of the kosher community. COR has built itself into one of the world’s most respected kosher certifiers, implementing industry wide best practices and employing people who are experts in both food science and Jewish law. COR is available as a free consumer resource for anything kosher: from koshering people’s homes to answering kosher questions. Last Passover alone COR answered approximately 2000 consumer questions. We appreciate the confidence that has been placed in us by the Jewish community and are honoured to serve you.

COR is a not for profit organization and all fees collected go towards covering our operations and providing services to the community. In the food service division (i.e. restaurants and caterers) we actually operate at a financial deficit – our expenses are greater than our fees. We are able to marginally compensate for this loss from our other divisions. Customers choose COR because they know that we are reliable, we provide professional service, and our prices are in line with the other major kosher certifiers.

COR offers its food service clients (i.e. restaurants and caterers) two options of supervision:

1. A full-time working mashgiach; or

2. Route supervision

A working mashgiach is an employee of the business who works in different capacities as required by the proprietor but is also trained by COR, responsible for the kosher program, and reports to a COR Senior Mashgiach. Establishments that choose a working mashgiach are charged only $300 per month. Those that choose route supervision are charged an average of $650 per month, not including the inspection of fruits and vegetables. Included in this fee are the multiple daily visits by a regular mashgiach and several monthly audits by a senior mashgiach. In the course of a month, a COR route mashgiach provides an establishment with between 25-35 hours of supervision.

COR’s financial statements are audited annually by Grunwald and Co., an independent accounting firm and our financial data is available to the public on Canada Revenue Agency’s website listed below[i]. COR’s entire operations are supervised by both a board of rabbis and a board of lay representatives appointed by local synagogues in our community and includes accountants, lawyers and business people who ensure that our organization is being run responsibly and in the best interests of the Jewish community.

There is nothing COR wants more than to see our certified establishments prosper and for consumers to have access to kosher food at competitive prices.

If you have any feedback, we would very much like to have a conversation with you. Please contact our offices at (416) 635-9550 to speak with either Richard Rabkin, Managing Director or Rabbi Tsvi Heber, Director of Community Kosher, or via email at info@cor.ca.

Sincerely,

Ira Marder	Jack Feintuch	Shimshi Gross	Naftali Winter
Chairman	Vice-Chair	Vice-Chair	Vice-Chair