By Terrance S. Carter and Adriel N. Clayton

Federal Bill C-32, Fall Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2022 Receives Royal Assent

The Fall Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2022 (“Bill C-32”), an act which implements certain provisions from the Fall Economic Statement and the April 2022 Federal Budget, received Royal Assent on December 15, 2022. Bill C-32 introduces several changes that are relevant to charities, namely, an increased disbursement quota of 5% for eligible property held by charities in excess of $1 million, expanded audit powers for the Canada Revenue Agency, and expanded trust reporting requirements.

For further details about the changes introduced by Bill C-32, see Charity & NFP Law Bulletin No. 517 and Charity & NFP Law Bulletin No. 515.

Ontario Bill 26, Strengthening Post-secondary Institutions and Students Act, 2022 Receives Royal Assent

Bill 26, Strengthening Post-secondary Institutions and Students Act, 2022 received Royal Assent on December 8, 2022. As reported in the November 2022 Charity & NFP Law Update, the bill will amend both the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities Act and the Private Career Colleges Act, 2005, by determining steps institutions that are governed by these acts can take when an employee is found to have committed an act of sexual misconduct towards a student.

New Brunswick Bill 19, Fiduciaries Access to Digital Assets Act

A new piece of legislation in New Brunswick, Bill 19, Fiduciaries Access to Digital Asset Act, which received Royal Assent on December 16, 2022, will grant trustees rights to access digital assets while also imposing fiduciary obligations in relation to these assets. The Act will also have application to charities and not-for-profits and any digital assets, such as cryptocurrency, that they may hold.

According to the Act, a digital asset can be “a record that is created, recorded, transmitted or stored in digital or other intangible form” by various means. The Act contemplates situations in which an account holder might choose to enter into a service agreement with a custodian, such that the custodian will hold or process the account holder’s digital assets. When this happens, a fiduciary of the account holder (such as a trustee) will have the right to access these assets, subject to any instructions from the account holder, despite any other law or choice of law provisions in the service agreement that would limit the fiduciary’s access.

​Read the January 2023 Charity & NFP Law Update