In 2017, Canadian finance ministers entered into an Agreement to
Strengthen Beneficial Ownership Transparency. The finance ministers
agreed to introduce certain safeguards to prevent corporations and
other legal entities from being used for tax evasion and other
criminal purposes, including a commitment to make legislative
changes to require corporations to maintain information on
beneficial owners by July 1, 2019. We previously
reported on amendments to the Canada Business Corporations
Act ("CBCA") (in force on June 13,
2019) which introduced a beneficial ownership register for CBCA
corporations.
Bill 24, Business Corporations Amendment Act, 2019,
proposes to introduce a beneficial ownership register for companies
organized under the British Columbia Business Corporations
Act ("BCBCA"). Bill 24 passed
second reading on May 1, 2019 and is expected to come into force.
If Bill 24 comes into force, all BCBCA private corporations
(corporations other than reporting