More than two years have passed since the Not-for-Profit Corporations Act, 2010 (Ontario) (the “ONCA”) became law on October 19, 2021.
While ONCA applies now to your corporation if it is an Ontario not-for-profit, such corporations have a 3-year transition period to make the necessary changes to their governing documents (e.g., letters patent and by-laws) to comply with ONCA. The deadline is October 18, 2024.
If your organization has not turned its mind to making these changes, we recommend this be added to your agenda, as time is passing quickly. There are notable changes in ONCA, which may affect the governance of your organization. If you do not make the necessary revisions by the deadline, ONCA deems your letters patent and your by-laws to be amended; without actually updating these documents, this means that the rules governing your organization will be both invisible and outdated.
You may need to review and amend your letters patent, by-laws, policies, and update other obligations such as maintaining corporate registers. All of this takes time. The deadline may seem far, but it is fast approaching. This is also an excellent opportunity to do a broader governance review addressing your organization’s purposes and vision, membership, board composition and other matters.
To help you get started:
Review your letters patent and any supplementary letters patent
Review your by-laws;
If applicable, review your governance policies.
Navigating through this process does not have to be difficult but it is important to get the timing right. INQ Law lawyers are knowledgeable about ONCA and can assist your organization through this transition. For more information please reach out to spalter@inq.law, pseto@inq.law, or kobrien@inq.law.
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