Societies need flexibility when managing incorporation, membership and governance matters. In response to this need, the legislation governing societies has changed. As part of this change, all BC societies must transition to the new Societies Act, which became effective on November 28, 2016.
Check out the info piece we created to help societies easily understand the upcoming changes and how to comply without disruption to operations.
Other helpful links:
- Transitioning to the New Societies Act
- BC Societies – The New Act
- BC Registry’s Guide to the Transition Process
- Societies Act and Regulations
- BC Registry’s table comparing current Society Act to the new Societies Act
The new act will directly impact societies in several key areas, including:
- Introduction of “member-funded societies”
- More flexibility in classes of membership
- Less registry oversight
- New concept of “senior managers”
- Increased disclosure obligations
- Board of Director responsibilities and liabilities
- Additional court remedies
To help with the transition, we are offering a *fixed-fee service to ensure that societies update their governance documents and take advantage of the more modern and flexible provisions of the new act.
The fixed fee is set at $975 and includes:
- Document preparation, including registry forms, approving resolutions and customizable bylaws
- Filing of the transition application with the BC Corporate Registry
- 30-minute consultation to discuss the transition process and impact of the new act
- Checklists and other resources
For your society to be eligible for the fixed-fee service, you must complete this questionnaire, which asks for information about your society, and, if you want new bylaws, it grants you the ability to customize those bylaws. We recommend you review all of the questions before you start answering the questions to ensure that you have the required information.
*Qualification for the fixed fee depends on answers to the questionnaire linked above.
