For many family businesses, control of long-term direction and management of the family corporation are key issues, particularly during times of growth or periods of succession. The Institute for Governance of Private and Public Organizations (“IGOPP”) recently published a new policy paper that should be of interest to family businesses and their advisors in planning the capital structure for their enterprises: The Case for Dual-Class of Shares, Policy Paper No. 11 (2019). The paper…

On April 8, 2019, the federal government introduced Bill C-97 to implement measures from its spring budget. The bill proposes amendments to many federal statutes, including several important amendments to the Canada Business Corporations Act (CBCA) relevant to both private and public companies. Our summary of the proposed changes is set out below, some of which deal with familiar issues, while others would introduce new requirements for companies. The codification of BCE The federal government…

If the Hillary Clinton email scandal wasn’t a clear enough lesson that one should not conduct “official” work using personal electronic communication tools (be it personal email, texts or other methods), a number of recent court decisions have required executives to produce communications from their personal accounts and devices. Executives and advisors should not assume that communications using methods other than corporate email will somehow be protected or otherwise not find the light of day…

The Competition Bureau announced the 2019 transaction-size pre-merger notification threshold under the Competition Act increased to C$96 million from C$92 million, effective February 2, 2019. Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada also announced new foreign investment review thresholds under the Investment Canada Act, effective January 1, 2019. For more information about the new thresholds under the Competition Act and Investment Canada Act, see the Competition Chronicle.…

  As of June 13, 2019, private corporations incorporated under the Canada Business Corporations Act (CBCA) must maintain a register regarding individuals who have “significant control” over the corporation through direct or indirect influence. This requirement was one of several new initiatives included in Bill C-86, the Budget Implementation Act, 2018, No. 2 which received Royal Assent on December 13, 2018. New Conditions Individuals will fall within the category of having significant control if the…

Recently, the Ontario Securities Commission, in coordination with the Ministry of Finance, created a Burden Reduction Task Force. The goal of this initiative is to enable Ontario’s businesses and markets to innovate, better compete with other jurisdictions and flourish as the regulatory load is reduced while not diminishing the safeguards in place for Ontario investors. This Task Force will support the Government of Ontario’s Open for Business Action Plan by identifying short- medium- and…