Reminder: Recent Corporate Legislation Changes for Charities

This year has seen a number of important changes or updates to charitable legislation for B.C., Ontario, and Saskatchewan.

British Columbia

A number of changes to the B.C. Societies Act came into effect in May of this year. Designed to increase clarity and address concerns with the legislation since it was first introduced, the provincial government has put together a table that sets out the majority of changes. We previously discussed these changes in our blog post, BC Societies Act Amendments, Part II.

Ontario

There are two important points for charities operating in Ontario. The first is timing – if your charity is provincially incorporated, there is one year remaining under Ontario’s Not-for-Profit Corporations Act, 2010 (“ONCA”) transition period. If you do not transition under the new legislation by October 18, 2024, any articles and bylaws that are inconsistent with the new Act at that time will be deemed amended, introducing confusion into the charity’s governance. If applicable to your charity, we recommend you review this guide and start the process to transition under ONCA immediately.

The Less Red Tape, Stronger Economy Act also updated ONCA. Although the changes were passed in June, they become effective October 1. The amendments largely deal with calling director and member meetings by telephonic and electronic means. We talked about these changes in greater detail in our blog post Amendments to the Ontario Not-for-Profit Corporations Act.

Saskatchewan

A new Not-for-Profit Corporations Act governing charities and other not-for-profit corporations in Saskatchewan came into force in March of this year. Intended to modernize the law dealing with charities, some important changes in the new Act deal with director qualifications, audits and reporting requirements, and electronic communications.

We’ll continue to monitor changes to federal and provincial legislation that affect charities.