The British Colombia Society Act, which dates back to 1977 and which has not being substantially revised since then, is undergoing a comprehensive overhaul, following the bill receiving Royal ascent on May 14th, 2015. The new Societies Act shall come into force, likely sometime in 2016. As with the overhaul and re-naming of the British Columbia Company Act (which subsequently became the Business Corporations Act), societies will be required to “transition” from the old Act to the new Act. We will be issuing further blog updates on the timing and detail of the required transition, and will assist our clients through this process.
There are a number of significant amendments to the new Act, which include more robust public disclosure of remuneration of employees of a society, the ability to designate a senior manager of the society, a provision for consideration of member proposals, amendments to unalterable provisions (N.B. which are to be located in the bylaws rather than the constitution) and additional amendments relating to member funded societies and qualifications of directors.
If you have any questions regarding these changes, the timing for transition, or other matters arising from the new Societies Act, we would be happy to assist you in that regard.