Bill S-238

SUMMARY

This enactment requires the following corporations and financial institutions to achieve parity in the number of women and men serving as directors:

(a) every corporation that is a distributing corporation under the Canada Business Corporations Act and has issued securities that remain outstanding and that are held by more than one person;

(b) every bank that is listed in Schedule I to the Bank Act;

(c) every insurance company and every trust and loan company that is a distributing company;

(d) every cooperative credit association; and

(e) other publicly traded corporations.

The requirement must be met whenever directors are elected or appointed, starting at the second annual meeting following the day on which the relevant provision comes into force. The organization may apply for a deferral to the third annual meeting if it would have to amend its articles or incorporating instrument and suffer undue hardship in order to comply earlier.

The requirements are enforced by making compliance by an organization a condition for the issuance of a certificate or letters patent, or the exercise of a power, required to make effective certain processes, proposals or amendments.

The requirement for gender parity also applies to the parent Crown corporations listed in Schedule III to the Financial Administration Act. In these cases the requirement applies three years after the relevant provision comes into force.