In an effort to advance the fight against modern slavery, new legislation imposing reporting obligations on a wide range of private-sector entities and certain government institutions will come into force on January 1, 2024.
The new act, entitled An Act to enact the Fighting Against Forced Labour and Child Labour in Supply Chains Act and to amend the Customs Tariff (the ...
Amendments to the Canada Business Corporations Act (the “CBCA”) relating to the election of directors and shareholder proposals will come into force on August 31, 2022 (the “Amendments”).
Election of Directors
The Amendments require distributing corporations (which, generally speaking, are public companies governed by the CBCA) to comply with the following ...
Changes are coming to the Alberta Business Corporations Act (the "Act"). On December 2, 2021 the Government of Alberta's Bill 84: Business Corporations Amendment Act, 2021 ("Bill 84") received Royal Assent. Bill 84 will come into force on proclamation, expected to be some time after the accompanying regulations have been developed.
Overall, these amendments aim to bring ...
In the recent case of Canada v. Canada North Group Inc.,[1] a 5-4 majority of the Supreme Court of Canada confirmed that supervising courts under the Companies Creditors' Arrangement Act (the "CCAA") have the discretion to grant restructuring charges (“Priming Charges”) priority over statutory deemed trusts (“Deemed Trusts”) in favour of the Crown.
The ...
Virtual shareholder meetings have become ubiquitous for both public and private companies since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Canadian securities regulators, stock exchanges and federal and provincial governments quickly responded to accommodate electronic meetings where it was otherwise not permitted. In British Columbia, Ministerial Order No. M116 was ...
On April 21, 2020, the Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General of British Columbia issued a Ministerial Order (the “Order”) permitting electronic attendance at meetings (collectively referred to as “Corporate Meetings”) held pursuant to the Business Corporations Act, the Cooperative Association Act and the Societies Act (collectively, the ...
Over the past decade, a new corporate form, the “benefit corporation”, has become increasingly available and increasingly popular across the United States.[1] A benefit corporation is a special form of corporation that, in addition to aiming to generate profits by operating a business, promotes one or more public benefits that are identified in its constating ...
The Canadian Trade-marks Act will undergo substantial changes, many due to take effect on June 17 of this year. These changes will have a significant impact on the Canadian trademarks system. If your business currently owns a registered trademark, or is planning to register one soon, it is vital to learn about these changes. Below are four things to consider now in advance of ...
In a surprising recent decision with potential implications for public M&A transactions in Canada, the Supreme Court of Yukon determined that the “fair value” of the shares of InterOil Corporation (“Interoil”) acquired by Exxon Canada Holdings ULC (“Exxon”) in 2017 was significantly higher than the negotiated deal price.
The Acquisition of Interoil
The ...
It was almost half a century ago that Milton Friedman pronounced, in a famous article in the New York Times Magazine, that a corporate executive is an agent of the shareholders, that “his primary responsibility is to them,” and that therefore “there is one and only one social responsibility of business - to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase ...
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