By Theresa L.M. Man

Saskatchewan Non-Profit Corporations Act, 2022 Coming Into Force

The Saskatchewan Non-Profit Corporations Act, 2022 (the “New Act”) will come into force on March 12, 2023. Order in Council 541/2022 was signed on December 7, 2022, and fixes March 12, 2023 as the date when the New Act will come into force, save and except for subsection 6-4(5) concerning manual signatures on certain security certificates.

As reported most recently in the June 2022 Charity & NFP Law Update, once in force, the New Act will replace Saskatchewan’s current Non-profit Corporations Act, 1995. The New Act updates provisions for boards of trade and chambers of commerce; removes certain notice and filing requirements with the registrar; permits corporate names to be in Cree, Dene, or other prescribed Indigenous languages; expressly permits the use of electronic technologies, such as sending financial statements electronically and holding electronic meetings; removes the current requirement that at least 25% of directors be Canadian residents; and removes the registrar’s ability to appoint non-accountants to conduct audits or reviews, while allowing for increased dollar thresholds for mandatory audits or review requirements.

As well, The Non-profit Corporations Consequential Amendments Act, 2022 (the “Amending Act”) will come into force on the same date as the New Act. The Amending Act makes consequential amendments to other legislation, including The Business Corporations Act, 2021, The Business Names Registration Act, and The Charitable Fund-raising Businesses Act, among others. Broadly speaking, these amendments are housekeeping in nature.

Order in Council 555/2022 was also signed on December 7, 2022, and similarly fixes March 12, 2023 as the date for new regulations under the New Act to come into force. SR 92/2022, The Non-profit Corporations Regulations, 2022 (the “New Regulations”) were published in the Saskatchewan Gazette on December 16, 2022, and will repeal and replace the current Non-profit Corporations Regulations, 1997 as of March 12, 2023. Broadly speaking, the New Regulations set out rules regarding corporate registry notices and documents, corporate names, and financial statements, audits and reviews. They also set out details for various matters prescribed in the New Act.

​Read the January 2023 Charity & NFP Law Update