Better for People, Smarter for Business Act, 2020, S.O. 2020, c. 34 - Bill 213

JurisdictionOntario
Bill Number213
Date08 December 2020

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This Explanatory Note was written as a reader’s aid to Bill 213 and does not form part of the law. Bill 213 has been enacted as Chapter 34 of the Statutes of Ontario, 2020.

Schedule 1
Business Corporations Act

A new clause 104 (1) (c) of the Business Corporations Act provides that, in the case of a corporation that is not an offering corporation, a resolution in writing signed by the holders of at least a majority of the shares or their attorney authorized in writing entitled to vote on that resolution at a meeting of the shareholders is as valid as if it had been passed by ordinary resolution at the meeting. In addition, if the resolution deals with all matters required by the Act to be dealt with at a meeting of shareholders where all business to be transacted at the meeting is to be passed by ordinary resolution, the resolution satisfies all the requirements of the Act relating to such a shareholder meeting. The new clause is subject to existing exceptions set out in the section. The section is also amended to require notice of the resolution referred to in clause 104 (1) (c) to be given to all shareholders entitled to vote on the resolution who did not sign it. Provision is made for circumstances where the articles or a unanimous shareholder agreement require a greater number of votes of shareholders to effect a particular action by ordinary resolution prevail over the number required by the Act by reason of subsection 5 (4). Consequential amendments are made to subsections 5 (5) and 154 (4).

Subsection 118 (3) of the Act, which governs how many directors of a corporation must be resident Canadians, is repealed. Consequential amendments are made.

Other technical amendments are made to various provisions of the Act.

Schedule 2
Canada Christian College and School of Graduate Theological Studies Act, 1999

The Schedule amends the Canada Christian College and School of Graduate Theological Studies Act, 1999 to continue Canada Christian College and School of Graduate Theological Studies as a corporation without share capital under the name Canada University and School of Graduate Theological Studies and makes other related amendments.

Section 6 of the Act is amended to include Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science as additional degrees the board may grant.

SCHEDULE 3
CHANGE OF NAME ACT

Subject to a transitional provision, the Schedule amends the Change of Name Act to remove the ability of a married person or person in a conjugal relationship outside marriage to elect to change the person’s surname to that of their spouse or conjugal partner or to a name that combines the surnames of both spouses or conjugal partners. The Schedule preserves the ability of a person who is or was married or in a conjugal relationship outside marriage and who made such an election before the amendments come into force to resume the surname that person had immediately before the marriage or the conjugal relationship, except if the person has changed any of the person’s names in the interim.

Schedule 4
Family Responsibility and Support Arrears Enforcement Act, 1996

The Family Responsibility and Support Arrears Enforcement Act, 1996 is amended to allow the Director of the Family Responsibility Office to exercise discretion in determining methods of payment that may be used by a support payor to pay amounts owing under a support order. Other technical amendments are also made to the Act.

Schedule 5
Fish and wildlife Conservation Act, 1997

Section 62.1 is added to the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1997 to give the Minister the power to amend licences and authorizations issued or granted under the Act.

Various minor amendments are made to the regulation-making powers set out in sections 112 and 113 of the Act.

schedule 6
Forfeited Corporate Property Act, 2015

The Schedule makes various amendments to the Forfeited Corporate Property Act, 2015, including the following:

1. Currently, the Minister has certain powers to require persons occupying forfeited corporate real property as living accommodation to vacate the property. The Act is amended to extend these powers to forfeited corporate real property that is not being occupied as living accommodation.

2. Various amendments are made respecting forfeited corporate real property that was co-owned. In particular, the Act is amended to permit the Minister to transfer any type of forfeited corporate real property to a co-owner of the property.

3. The Act is amended to specify the availability of certain remedies in respect of forfeited corporate property.

As well, the Schedule repeals section 39 of the Act (Availability of co-operative’s property to satisfy judgments) and amends the Co-operative Corporations Act to incorporate, in that Act, substantively the same rule as set out in section 39.

Schedule 7
Insurance Act

The Schedule makes several amendments to the Insurance Act. Various provisions of the Act are repealed, complementary amendments are made and transitional matters are provided for.

sCHEDULE 8
mINING aCT

The Schedule makes various amendments to the Mining Act, including the following:

1. A new section 73.1 is added to the Act, permitting the Minister to make an order described in subsection 67 (1) (exclusion of time and work) or 73 (1) (extension of time) on the Minister’s own initiative, without an application, if the Minister is satisfied that special circumstances exist. The order may apply to all mining claims or to one or more classes of mining claims. The new section specifies the implications of making such an order. A consequential amendment is made to the definition of “anniversary date” in subsection 1 (1).

2. Amendments are made to subsection 81 (6.1) and 82 (4) requiring that lease renewal applications under sections 81 and 82 (and under sections 83 and 84, by operation of those sections) be made through the mining lands administration system. A new subsection 138 (2.1) is added to the Act that specifies the effect on leases of an extension of time to apply for the renewal of a lease that is granted under subsection 138 (2) because the system is not available.

3. Various other amendments are made to sections 81 to 84 to make them more consistent and to remove obsolete references.

4. A new section 85.1 is added to the Act, permitting the Minister to direct that a fraction or gore that adjoins a mining claim for which an application for a lease is made may be included in the lease without itself being registered as a mining claim.

5. Subsection 185 (5), which sets a limit on the Minister’s power under section 185 to grant relief from forfeiture, is repealed.

Schedule 9
Ministry of the Environment Act

The Ministry of the Environment Act is amended to permit the Minister to make regulations establishing fees for providing copies of and statements about documents and information in the custody or under the control of the Ministry.

Schedule 10
Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities Act

The Schedule amends the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities Act. A new section 6.1 is added to exempt from development charges the development of land intended for use by a university that receives operating funds from the government.

Schedule 11
Niagara Parks Act

The Schedule amends the Niagara Parks Act to remove the requirement for the Commission to seek the approval of the Lieutenant Governor in Council to appoint an auditor. In addition, administrative amendments are made to several provisions to update references to the Minister of Finance.

Schedule 12
Northern Services Boards Act

The Schedule amends several provisions of the Northern Services Boards Act to remove the requirement that documents be sent to the Minister or the Minister of Finance by registered mail or electronic mail and updates the definition of “Minister”.

Schedule 13
Official Notices Publication Act

The Schedule renames the Official Notices Publication Act as the Ontario Gazette Act. In addition, section 1 of the Act is amended to give discretion to the Queen’s Printer to determine the timing and manner of publication of The Ontario Gazette. Other Acts are consequentially amended to remove references to the print version of The Ontario Gazette and to print publication of Ontario laws and refer instead to publication, as well as to update a reference to the title of the Act.

Schedule 14
Ontario Energy Board Act, 1998

The Schedule amends several provisions of the Ontario Energy Board Act, 1998 to remove references to the Ontario Clean Energy Benefit Act, 2010.

Schedule 15
Ontario Highway Transport Board REPEAL ACT, 2020

The Schedule enacts the Ontario Highway Transport Board Repeal Act, 2020, which dissolves the Ontario Highway Transport Board and repeals the Ontario Highway Transport Board Act. It authorizes the Minister of Transportation to make transitional regulations to phase out the Act’s application before it is repealed.

Schedule 16
Ontario New Home Warranties Plan Act

Technical amendments are made to the Ontario New Home Warranties Plan Act with respect to transitional regulation-making authority.

Schedule 17
Ontario Water Resources Act

The Ontario Water Resources Act is amended to require certain persons who wish to apply for a permit to take ground water for the purpose of producing bottled water to first seek the support of the council of the local municipality where the water will be taken.

Schedule 18
Pension Benefits Act

The Pension Benefits Act is amended.

The amendments to sections 80, 80.4, 81 and 81.0.1 of the Act permit the Chief Executive Officer of the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario to waive or vary certain requirements in the regulations or, in some cases, in the Authority’s rules. The requirements that can be waived or varied relate to an administrator’s obligation to give notice of the transfer of assets between pension plans and to the conversion of...

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