{"id":8082,"date":"2023-01-16T09:43:10","date_gmt":"2023-01-16T14:43:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.spiegelsohmer.com\/?p=8082"},"modified":"2023-01-16T09:51:52","modified_gmt":"2023-01-16T14:51:52","slug":"quebecs-beneficiary-register","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spiegelryan.com\/en\/2023\/01\/16\/quebecs-beneficiary-register\/","title":{"rendered":"Will Quebec\u2019s Ultimate Beneficiary Register be Delayed and Non-Public?"},"content":{"rendered":"

An earlier version of this article appeared in The Lawyer\u2019s Daily (published by LexisNexis Canada) on January 11, 2023.<\/em><\/p>\n

It is important for our clients\/ friends to continue to prepare for the upcoming in-force date of March 31, 2023, that was announced by Quebec for the filing thereafter with the Quebec register of enterprises of beneficial ownership-related information.\u00a0 In this regard, we have asked and are asking our clients, for their corporations and partnerships, to provide essentially to us information as to nominee agreements, trusts and holding companies, if any, along with related information, and to provide to us organizational charts if available.\u00a0 However, we did want to note that it is possible that the new Quebec rules requiring this information will be delayed, and some are even questioning whether the information will ultimately be publicly posted by the government.\u00a0 My article that appeared in the Lawyer\u2019s<\/em> Daily<\/em><\/strong><\/a> on January 11, 2023, speculates that the in-force date for these rules may be delayed, and that the information provided to the government may not be made public:<\/p>\n

There has been a wave of corporate, trust and tax transparency that has reached Canada that appears to be continuing unabated, with for example trust tax return filing obligations being expanded for the 2023 tax year, including the requirement to identify trust beneficiaries.\u00a0 Another example is Ontario this past January 1 having joined the federal government and group of provinces that oblige corporations formed in their jurisdiction to keep an internal register (accessible to the authorities in the context of an investigation) of individuals (who may not be shareholders) with significant control of the corporation including for example through nominee agreements, trusts, holding companies and de facto control (a \u201cSignificant Control Register<\/strong>\u201d).<\/p>\n

Quebec has seemed set to continue this wave of transparency.\u00a0 For example, on its website the Quebec enterprise register (the \u201cREQ<\/strong>\u201d) (an on-line register of all corporations and other business entities that have activity in Quebec, no matter where in the world the entity is formed, meaning that Quebec\u2019s register is of interest to persons across Canada and worldwide) continues to say that Quebec\u2019s version of the Significant Control Register (Quebec\u2019s version refers to individuals with control as ultimate beneficiaries, and will oblige registered entities to determine and then list their ultimate beneficiaries on the public and freely accessible on-line REQ website) will have a March 31, 2023 in force date.\u00a0 Indeed, it does seem almost a certainty that information on ultimate beneficiaries will eventually have to be assembled by corporations and other entities from everywhere that have activity in Quebec.\u00a0 However, and we will find out soon, one wonders if Quebec will really oblige public disclosure on March 31.<\/p>\n

Notable in this regard is that the Quebec REQ\u2019s current webpages indicate that the upcoming public reporting of ultimate beneficiaries on the REQ \u201cconcords perfectly with the orientation adopted at the international level by different countries.\u201d (Author\u2019s translation from the original French.)\u00a0 Quebec has been saying this since it released its corporate transparency consultation of 2019 and its provincial budget of March 2020, which state a view that a public corporate beneficial ownership register would not only help combat public ills such as tax evasion, unreasonable tax avoidance, money laundering and terrorist financing, but would also essentially help to reduce fraud generally and level the playing field between counterparties by promoting knowledge as to who one is dealing with.\u00a0 Furthermore, Quebec has noted that a public register promotes accuracy through the possibility of errors on the register being flagged by the public.<\/p>\n

Those not in favour of a public beneficial ownership register usually point to the loss of privacy as being disproportionate to whatever benefit the public disclosure would provide.\u00a0 As of yet, no other jurisdiction in Canada or the US has such a public register.\u00a0 In Europe, it has been different, with the UK leading the way with a public register in 2016 (and indicating then that public access would promote accuracy and economic relations), and with EU members being required to have a public register since 2020 under the EU\u2019s Fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive. Quebec stated a desire to follow these European examples.<\/p>\n

Quebec’s rules on ultimate beneficiaries are in the Quebec Act respecting the legal publicity of enterprises<\/em>, as it was amended by Quebec Bill 78 of June 2021.<\/p>\n

With this background, one can then speculate that Quebec\u2019s ultimate beneficiary register may not require public disclosure by March 31 despite Quebec\u2019s previous announcement.\u00a0 In this regard:<\/p>\n