By Joel Secter This article provides information on holding meetings of members under the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act (CNCA). It will be updated for Ontario no-share corporations once Ontario’s Not-for-profit Corporations Act, 2010 comes into force. 1. Calling Annual Meetings Newly incorporated federal no-share corporations must hold their first annual meeting of members within eighteen […]
Changes Afoot at Canada Council for the Arts
By Joel Secter In an era of spending cuts, federal support for the Canada Council for the Arts has remained steadfast. In fact, in our Budget 2014 Update, we reported that the Government of Canada had made permanent the $25 million supplements to the Parliamentary appropriation, which in recent years has been $181 million1 (previously, […]
Anticipating the New Ontario Act
By Joel Secter In anticipation of the Ontario Not-for-profit Corporations Act, 2010 (the “new Act”), many Ontario not-for-profit corporations established by letters patent under the Corporations Act (the “old Act”) have turned their minds to reviewing their by-laws. Some have even gone so far as to adopt new by-laws for compliance with the new Act. […]
CNCA Directors in 3 Acts
By Joel Secter Even the most seasoned volunteer directors are advised to familiarize themselves with the rules under the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act (CNCA). While this brief article only covers certain aspects of the law governing federal not-for-profits, it does highlight a few important aspects in the lifecycle of a board member. ACT I – […]
Sexual Harassment: Managing the Risk
By Joel Secter On the heels of Jian Ghomeshi’s firing from the CBC and the suspension of two Liberal MPs from caucus, Canadians are talking about sexual harassment. Although not a topic that is typically associated with the philanthropic sector, charities and non-profits are not immune from dealing with these types of issues. In fact, […]
Access to Members’ Personal Information
By Joel Secter The Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act (CNCA) requires federal non-share capital corporations to prepare and maintain records including, among other things, a register of members, directors and officers. This should be familiar to corporations originally established under Part II of the Canada Corporations Act because it also required them to keep separate registers […]
Artists Triumph in Supreme Court
By Joel Secter Canadian visual artists celebrated on Sparks Street in Ottawa after their appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada was allowed from the bench on May 14, 2014.1 They have been embroiled in a legal dispute with the National Gallery of Canada (NGC) since negotiation of a scale agreement with the iconic institution […]
ONCA: Two Steps Forward, One Step Back
By Joel Secter The Ontario election called for June 12th has delayed proclamation of the Ontario Not-for-profit Corporations Act, 2010 (ONCA) yet again. You may recall a previous update when we reported that the ONCA could not come into force until a series of technical amendments to it and a multitude of other statutes were approved in […]
Close Encounters of Special Act Corporations
By Joel Secter The Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act (CNCA) establishes a new set of rules for not-for-profit corporations in Canada. These new rules replace the Canada Corporations Act (CCA). Part 19 of the CNCA applies to any corporation without share capital incorporated by a special act of Parliament and not continued under another act. For […]
A Fiduciary Obligation
A Fiduciary Obligation Does Not (Necessarily) a Fiduciary Make By Joel Secter Regular readers may recall the article we wrote (click here) on the topic of officer liability. There we commented on circumstances in which officers of corporations under the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act (CNCA) (whether continued to it or incorporated there) will be exposed […]