National Action Plan on Open Government Commitment
C03.1.2 - Fiscal, Financial and Corporate Transparency
- Commitment:
- Fiscal, Financial and Corporate Transparency
- Milestone:
- Pursuant to the Budget 2022 commitment the Government of Canada will implement a public and searchable beneficial ownership registry by the end of 2023. The registry will cover federally regulated corporations and will be scalable to allow access to the beneficial ownership data held by provinces and territories that agree to participate in a national registry
- Indicator:
- C03.1.2 - Federal legislative provisions necessary to implement the national beneficial ownership registry are in place in a timely manner, to support launch of the registry
- Lead Organization:
- Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada
- Deadline:
- By December 2023
- Summit for Democracy:
- No
Updates
2024-03
Bill C-42 received Royal Assent on November 3, 2023 and the federal beneficial ownership registry is currently accessible to the public.
C-42 (44-1) - LEGISinfo - Parliament of Canada; Search for a Federal Corporation - Online Filing Centre - Corporations Canada - Corporations - Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada
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2023-06
On March 21, 2023 the government tabled Bill C-42 in Parliament. Bill C-42 An Act to amend the Canada Business Corporations Act and to make consequential and related amendments to other Acts. Bill C-42 completed first reading in the Senate on June 22, 2023. Debate will resume in the Fall session.
See link to Bill C-42 parliamentary page - https://parl.ca/legisinfo/en/bill/44-1/c-42
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2023-03
2) On March 21, 2023 the government tabled Bill C-42 in Parliament. Bill C-42 An Act to amend the Canada Business Corporations Act and to make consequential and related amendments to other Acts. Bill C-42
will require Corporations Canada to make public some information regarding the beneficial owners of federal corporations. Specifically the proposed amendments will require federal corporations to collect and send additional information about their individuals of significant control, namely residential address and citizenship. It will require Corporations Canada to make certain information public, while introducing an exemption regime to protect certain categories of individuals, such as minors and individuals that are incapacitated or have reasonable grounds to fear for their safety. The CBCA amendments will also introduce protections for whistleblowers and clarify enquiry and enforcement powers of Corporations Canada to ensure robust compliance with the new regime.
The bill further proposes consequential amendments to the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act (PCMLTFA) and the Income Tax Act to support sharing and validation of information to ensure the integrity of the registry.
2) See link to Bill C-42 - https://parl.ca/legisinfo/en/bill/44-1/c-42
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2022-09
Budget Implementation Act 2022 No. 1, which received Royal Assent on June 23, 2022, put in place a first series of legislative amendments to the Canada Business Corporations Act (CBCA). These amendments require private federal corporations to proactively send information on their beneficial owners to Corporations Canada on an annual basis or when a change in control occurs. These amendments also authorize Corporations Canada to provide all or part of that information to law enforcement and other prescribed entities. A second series of amendments, notably with regards to public dissemination, is expected to be included in a subsequent legislative vehicle that will come into force before the end of 2023.
Amendments to the Canada Business Corporations Act approved in Budget Implementation Act 2022 No. 1.
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