What B.C. companies need to know about Transparency Register
The Business Corporations Amendment Act, 2019 (“Bill 24”) was introduced by the government of B.C. in 2019 as part of its commitment to end hidden ownership of companies in B.C. Bill 24 amends the B.C. Business Corporations Act (the “Act”) and requires private companies incorporated in B.C. to create and maintain an internal register called a Transparency Register of ‘significant individuals’ of the company. These amendments to the Act were formerly effective on May 1, 2020. In light of the COVID-19 epidemic, the B.C. government has decided to delay the coming into force of the Transparency Register requirements until October 1, 2020. This postponement of the Transparency Register requirements was passed by an order of the Lieutenant Governor in Council of B.C., dated April 6, 2020.
The Transparency Register must include information regarding each ‘significant individual’ of the company and be held in either (i) the company’s records office or (ii) at another location of the company’s choosing, so long as the Transparency Register is available for inspection and copying at its records office by means of a computer terminal or other electronic technology.
For more detailed information about the Transparency Register, please read our previous article and contact a member of our Corporations and Governance team.
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Kiran Sidhu Lawyer, Business Law Lindsay Kenney – Vancouver office 604 484 3052 [email protected] |
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Erin Easingwood Partner, Business Law Lindsay Kenney – Vancouver office 604 484 3071 [email protected] |