Reform of the Legal Publicity Act

In recent years, both levels of government have been working to find solutions to improve corporate transparency and counter corruption, tax evasion and money laundering.

As the new provisions of Bill 78 came into office on March 31, 2023, companies must now comply with them.

The new provisions amending the Act respecting the legal publicity of entreprises (Loi sur la publicité légale des entreprises) entail new obligations for all companies registered with the Registraire des entreprises du Québec.

Companies are now required to declare the following information to the Registraire des entreprises du Québec (REQ):

• Name and home address (of all individuals identified in the REQ)
• Business address (of all individuals identified in the REQ, if they wish their personal addresses to remain confidential)
• Date of birth (of all individuals identified in the REQ)
• Start and end dates of directors’ and shareholders’ occupations
• Percentage of voting rights held by the company’s ultimate beneficiary
• Percentage interest in the fair market value of the company

In addition, all registered companies must now declare that they have taken the necessary steps to trace ultimate beneficiaries and ensure their identity.

Moreover, reporting entities will also be required to provide a copy of a valid identification document for each director registered with the REQ, and to comply with the same request for any new director added to the company. This document must include the following information:

• Photo
• Date of birth
• Home address
• ID expiration date

These new obligations are likely to have an impact on companies that use nominees.

In fact, since the disclosure of personal identity and data is now mandatory, any failure to comply will result in penalties ranging from $500 to $25,000 for any company failing to comply with these new provisions.