As expected, the Ontario government has confirmed that the Not-for-Profit Corporations Act, 2010 ("ONCA") will not come into force until 2016 at the earliest – this differs from earlier comments that indicated the ONCA might come into force in 2015. There is an update on the ONCA posted at http://www.sse.gov.on.ca/mcs/en/pages/onca1.aspx.
Sylvie Lalonde, one of BLG's not-for-profit and charities
law lawyers had the following to say about the ONCA and recent
events:
"It is now old news that the Not-for-Profit Corporations
Act, 2010 ("ONCA") received Royal Assent on October
25, 2010. Although more than 3 years have passed since then, the
ONCA is still not in force. Additional delays are now a certainty
after the dissolution of the Legislative Assembly on May 2, 2014
and the calling of a general election in Ontario. Prior to the
calling of the June 12, 2014 election, the ONCA was expected to
come into force sometime in late 2014 or early 2015.
Bill 85, which was introduced in June 2013, would have amended
over 80 Ontario statutes, including the ONCA. According to the
Ontario Government, the ONCA was anticipated to come into force no
earlier than six months after the passage of Bill 85. When the
election was called, Bill 85 was being debated at second reading.
As a result, Bill 85 has died on the order paper. In order for the
ONCA to be proclaimed into force, the technical amendments provided
for in Bill 85 still need to be enacted. That means the Bill will
need to be reintroduced (and given a new number) and the
legislative process (beginning with first reading) started
anew.
If the time taken to lead Bill 85 through first and second reading
of the legislative process is any indication, the reintroduction of
the Bill and ensuing process, once a new government is elected,
likely will take several months. Whether or not the ONCA will be a
priority of the new government also remains to be seen.
Accordingly, it is not possible to identify a definitive date, but
the latest posting to the government website suggests 2016 is the
earliest date possible.
In addition, it appears that some groups in the not-for-profit
sector have been advocating for further amendments to what was Bill
85. It thus is possible that the new amending legislation will be
different than Bill 85, or that it will be further amended in
committee through the legislative process."
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