BC Registries has provided additional guidance for non-BC societies who may be registered in BC. Such extraprovincial non-share corporations must “on-board” to the new electronic registries system to avoid being struck by the Registrar, but do not need to transition. They must also register within 60 days of beginning to carry on activities in B.C. and appoint a qualified attorney if its head office is not in B.C.
In its FAQ of September 2016, BC Registries stated:
Q: I represent an extraprovincial society that carries on some of its operations in BC. What do I have to do to transition the society to the new Societies Act?
A: Unlike societies that are incorporated here, there is no formal transition process for extraprovincial societies under the new Act. Extraprovincial non-share corporations (as they will now be called) that carry on activities in BC must register with the Registrar within 60 days of commencing activities in the province. If your ENSC is currently carrying on operations in BC but is not currently registered, you have 2 years — until November 28, 2018 — to register the ENSC. If your ENSC is already registered under the current Society Act, your registration will be automatically carried forward [see section 247 of the Societies Act].
Similarly, the attorney, if any, for a currently registered ENSC will be automatically carried forward. However, new attorney qualifications will apply [see section 170 (2) of the Societies Act]. If the existing attorney is not qualified, the ENSC has until May 28, 2017 or the date by which its annual report is due, whichever is later, to retain a qualified person as its attorney [see section 248 of the Societies Act].
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