Bill C-5
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1st Session, 36th Parliament, 46 Elizabeth II, 1997
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The House of Commons of Canada
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BILL C-5 |
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An Act respecting cooperatives
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Preamble
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WHEREAS cooperatives in Canada carry
on business in accordance with internationally
recognized cooperative principles;
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WHEREAS cooperatives work for the so
cial and economic development of their com
munities through policies approved by their
members;
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WHEREAS the Government of Canada has
determined that it is desirable to modernize
the law governing those cooperatives;
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NOW, THEREFORE, Her Majesty, by and
with the advice and consent of the Senate and
House of Commons of Canada, enacts as fol
lows:
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SHORT TITLE |
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Short title
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1. This Act may be cited as the Canada
Cooperatives Act.
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PART 1 |
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INTERPRETATION AND APPLICATION |
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Interpretation |
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Definitions
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2. (1) The definitions in this subsection
apply in this Act.
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``affairs'' « affaires internes »
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``affairs'' means the relationship between a
cooperative and its affiliates and their mem
bers, shareholders, directors and officers,
but does not include the business carried on
by those bodies corporate.
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``affiliate'' « groupe »
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``affiliate'' means an affiliated body corporate
within the meaning of subsection (2).
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``articles'' « statuts »
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``articles'' means the original or restated ar
ticles of incorporation, articles of amend
ment, articles of amalgamation, articles of
continuance, articles of reorganization, ar
ticles of arrangement, articles of dissolu
tion, articles of revival and articles of
correction, and includes any amendments
to any of them.
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``associate'' « liens »
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``associate'', in respect of a relationship with
a person, means
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``auditor'' « vérifica- teur »
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``auditor'' includes a firm of accountants.
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``bearer'' « porteur »
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``bearer'', in respect of a security, means the
person who is in possession of a security
that is payable to bearer or endorsed in
blank.
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``beneficial
ownership'' « véritable propriétai- re »
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``beneficial ownership'' includes
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``body
corporate'' « personne morale »
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``body corporate'' includes a cooperative, a
cooperative entity, a company or any other
body corporate wherever or however incor
porated.
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``call'' « option d'achat »
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``call'' means an option transferable by deliv
ery, to demand delivery of a specified num
ber or amount of securities at a fixed price
within a specified time but does not include
an option or right to acquire securities of the
cooperative that granted the option or right
to acquire.
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``coopera- tive'' « coopéra- tive »
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``cooperative'' means a body corporate that is
incorporated under this Act and not discon
tinued under this Act.
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``coopera- tive entity'' « entité coopérative »
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``cooperative entity'' means a body corporate
that, by the law under which it is organized
and operated, must be organized and oper
ated on - and is organized and operated
on - cooperative principles.
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``court'' « tribunal »
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``court'' means the court of first instance of su
perior jurisdiction of a province.
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``debt
obligation'' « titre de créance »
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``debt obligation'' means a bond, debenture,
note or other evidence of indebtedness of an
entity, whether secured or unsecured.
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``delegate'' « délégué »
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``delegate'' means an individual who is ap
pointed or elected to represent a member at
a meeting of members.
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``Director'' « directeur »
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``Director'' means the Director appointed un
der section 371.
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``director'' « adminis- trateur »
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``director'' means an individual occupying the
position of director, by whatever name
called, of a cooperative, and ``board of di
rectors'' or ``directors'' refers to the direc
tors as a body.
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``distributing
cooperative'' « coopéra- tive ayant fait appel au public »
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``distributing cooperative'' means a coopera
tive any of whose issued securities, other
than membership shares or member loans,
are or were part of a distribution to the pub
lic and remain outstanding and are held by
more than one person.
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``entity'' « entité »
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``entity'' means a body corporate, a trust, a
partnership, a fund or an unincorporated or
ganization.
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``federation'' « fédéra- tion »
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``federation'' means a cooperative whose
membership is composed substantially of
other cooperative entities, federations or
leagues of cooperative entities.
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``firm of
accountants'' « cabinet de comptables »
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``firm of accountants'' means a partnership
whose partners and accountant employees
are accountants engaged in the practice of
accounting, or a body corporate that is in
corporated by or under an Act of the legisla
ture of a province and engaged in the prac
tice of accounting.
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``former Act
cooperative'' « coopéra- tive sous le régime de l'ancienne loi »
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``former Act cooperative'' means a coopera
tive that was incorporated under the Cana
da Cooperative Associations Act.
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``holder'' « détenteur »
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``holder'' means
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``incorpora- ted'' « constitué »
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``incorporated'', when used with reference to
a body corporate that is incorporated by or
under an Act of Parliament or of the legisla
ture of a province, includes a body corpo
rate that is continued by or under any such
Act.
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``incorpora- tor'' « fondateur »
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``incorporator'' means a person who signs ar
ticles of incorporation.
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``individual'' « particu- lier »
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``individual'' means a natural person.
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``issuer'' « émetteur »
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``issuer'', in respect of a security, means the
entity that issues the security.
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``investment
share'' « part de placement »
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``investment share'' means a share in the capi
tal of a cooperative that is not a membership
share.
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``meeting of a
cooperative'' « assemblée d'une coopérative »
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``meeting of a cooperative'' means
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``member'' « membre »
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``member'' means a member of a cooperative,
but does not include an auxiliary member.
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``member
loan'' « prêt de membre »
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``member loan'' means a loan required by the
cooperative from its members as a condi
tion of membership or to continue member
ship in the cooperative, and, for the purpose
of Parts 8, 16, 17 and 19 and subsection
163(2), a member loan is deemed to be a
member share issued at par value.
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``membership
share'' « part de membre »
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``membership share'' means a share described
in section 118.
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``Minister'' « ministre »
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``Minister'' means the member of the Queen's
Privy Council for Canada that is designated
by the Governor in Council as the Minister
for the purposes of this Act.
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``officer'' « dirigeant »
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``officer'' includes the chairperson of the
board of directors, a vice-chairperson of the
board of directors, the president, a vice-
president, the secretary, an assistant secre
tary, the treasurer, an assistant treasurer and
the general manager of a cooperative, and
any other individual designated as an offi
cer of the cooperative by by-law or by reso
lution of the directors, or any other individ
ual who performs functions for the coopera
tive similar to those normally performed by
an individual occupying any such office.
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``ordinary
resolution'' « résolution ordinaire »
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``ordinary resolution'' means a resolution
passed by a majority - or any greater num
ber set out in the articles or a unanimous
agreement - of the votes cast by or on be
half of the persons who are entitled to vote
in respect of the resolution.
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``patronage
return'' « ristourne »
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``patronage return'' means an amount that the
cooperative allocates among and credits or
pays to its members or to its member and
non-member patrons based on the business
done by them with or through the coopera
tive.
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``person'' « personne »
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``person'' means an individual or an entity and
includes a legal representative.
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``prescribed''
Version
anglaise
seulement
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``prescribed'' means prescribed by regulation.
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``proxy'' « procura- tion »
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``proxy'' means a completed and executed
form of proxy by means of which a share
holder appoints a proxyholder to attend and
act on the shareholder's behalf at a meeting
of the shareholders.
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``put'' « option de vente »
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``put'' means an option transferable by deliv
ery, to deliver a specified number or amount
of securities at a fixed price within a speci
fied time.
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``redeemable'' « racheta- ble »
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``redeemable'', with respect to an investment
share issued by a cooperative, means that
the share is one
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``security'' « valeur mobilière »
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``security'' includes an investment share, a
debt obligation of a cooperative and a cer
tificate evidencing such a share or debt ob
ligation and, for the purposes of Part 19, in
cludes a membership share.
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``security
interest'' « sûreté »
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``security interest'' means an interest in or
charge on property of a cooperative to se
cure payment of a debt or the performance
of an obligation of the cooperative.
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``send'' « envoyer »
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``send'' includes deliver.
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``series'' « série »
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``series'', in respect of investment shares,
means a division of a class of those shares.
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``share'' « part »
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``share'' means a membership share or an in
vestment share.
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``share- holder'' « détenteur de parts de placement »
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``shareholder'' means a person described in
section 6.
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``special
resolution'' « résolution spéciale »
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``special resolution'' means a resolution
passed by not less than two thirds - or any
greater number set out in the articles or a
unanimous agreement - of the votes cast
by or on behalf of the persons who are en
titled to vote in respect of the resolution.
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``unanimous
agreement'' « convention unanime »
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``unanimous agreement'' means an agreement
in writing among all members and all share
holders, if any, that contains a provision re
ferred to in subsection 115(1).
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Affiliates
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(2) For the purposes of this Act,
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Electronic
delivery
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(3) For the purposes of this Act, a document,
notice or other information may be sent or
otherwise given electronically only if it is sent
in accordance with the prescribed require
ments and if the by-laws or articles do not
provide otherwise.
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