Objective: To further increase corporate transparency and accountability
The Government of Canada is committed to protecting Canadians against money laundering and terrorist financing, deterring tax evasion and tax avoidance, and making sure Canada is an attractive place to conduct business.
Today, the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, introduced proposed legislation in Parliament as part of the government's commitment to corporate transparency and the implementation of a free, publicly accessible and scalable beneficial ownership registry of corporations governed under the Canada Business Corporations Act (CBCA).
This legislation proposes a second series of amendments to the CBCA, and amendments to other statutes. These changes, among others, will require Corporations Canada to make public some information regarding the beneficial owners of federal corporations.
First series of amendments
Last year, a first series of amendments to the CBCA were introduced in the Budget Implementation Act, 2022, No. 1. They will require most federally incorporated businesses to proactively submit information on their beneficial owners to Corporations Canada on an annual basis, or when a change in control occurs. These amendments will also allow Corporations Canada to disclose all or part of that information received from corporations to investigative bodies, and the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC), supporting enhanced transparency and enforcement. These amendments are not yet in force.
Read the news release