C-42Royal assent received

Making Changes to the Rules for Canadian Companies

Changes to Company Rules

Introduced Mar 22, 2023·Last discussed Nov 2, 2023

Summary

This approved law changes the rules for how Canadian corporations operate. It focuses on making things more digital and easier to access. It also makes sure businesses are more open and fair. The changes affect all companies that follow the Canada Business Corporations Act. This includes businesses of all sizes across Canada. The law makes it easier for the government to collect and share information about who owns and controls these companies. It also makes some of this information available to the public. This matters because it helps prevent illegal activities like money laundering. It also makes businesses more responsible and transparent. The public can now see who is really in charge of a company. This can help people make better decisions about where to invest or do business.

Where This Lands on Key Issues

Where this proposed law falls on the policy spectrums that Canadians care about

Business & Worker RulesStrengthen worker protections

The bill aims to make businesses more fair and transparent, which could imply some increased regulation or oversight, nudging it slightly towards worker protections.

Political & Electoral ReformOpen to considering reforms

The bill's focus on digital transformation and transparency in corporate governance suggests a minor move towards modernizing and improving the system, though not a major overhaul.

This bill

Bill Quality

Solid

This proposed law aims to increase transparency by requiring corporations to report information about individuals with significant control and making some of that information public. However, it also creates exceptions where this information can be kept private, and leaves many details to be determined later by the Director.

Things to Watch For

Watch for how the Director defines "serious threat to safety," as this will determine who can keep their information private.
The law doesn't specify how often the Director must review exemption requests.
The specific information to be made public beyond names and addresses will be determined later.
The law does not address how the Director will verify the accuracy of the information provided by corporations.
It is unclear how this law will interact with provincial privacy laws.

Progress

Click any step to learn what it means