Bill 78: Declaring An Ultimate Beneficiary

Bill 78, entitled An act mainly to improve the transparency of enterprises ("Transparency Act"), amending the Act respecting the legal publicity of enterprises ("Publicity Act"), now requires the disclosure of information about the "ultimate beneficiaries" of enterprises subject to the Publicity Act.

Enterprises that Must Declare their Ultimate Beneficiaries

Under the Transparency Act, all enterprises subject to the Publicity Act, whether Quebec, Canadian or foreign,¹ now have to declare their ultimate beneficiaries; these enterprises include:

1. business corporations;
2. natural persons who operate a sole proprietorship;
3. partnerships (e.g.: limited partnerships, general partnerships);