Part 12.1 Incorporation

Child Care and Early Years Act, 2014 ss. 20(6) 

Intent

The past conduct of directors, officers, employees and individuals with a controlling interest in an incorporated applicant or licensee is an important consideration when assessing their competency to operate a child care centre, among other things (such as the likelihood of operating in accordance with the law).

Subsection 20(6) of the CCEYA is in place to ensure that when there is a change to the directors/officers of a corporation which holds a licence, a ministry’s director is notified so that they can review the past conduct and competency of the new directors/officers.

Clarifying guidance

When a corporation which is a licensee gets a new director or officer, the licensee needs to:

  • email their program advisor to let them know about the change
  • update their profile in CCLS to remove the name of the director/officer that is being replaced and add in the name of the new director/officer (along with any other required documentation. For example, see part 9 of the manual regarding police record checks)

Important information: the reference to 15 days in subsection 20(6) of the CCEYA means 15 calendar days.

Notification to the Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery (or any successor of that ministry)

All Ontario corporations, including business, not-for-profit, co-operative and other Ontario corporations must file certain forms as required under the Corporations Information Act (CIA). Licensees should refer to the CIA directly and visit the provincial Central Forms Repository for information about the required forms.

Best practices

A community group, which does or wants to operate a child care centre can become incorporated under different laws, depending on their methods of funding and operation. Incorporation enables a group to continue functioning even if its executive or membership should change.

A corporation may hold real estate, may borrow money and may contract in its own name.

Individual members of the corporation are generally exempt from personal liability for the debts and obligations of the corporation. However, under certain circumstances, the board of directors may be personally liable for certain debts and obligations of the corporation. Should this situation arise, the individual should get legal advice.

The Ontario Business Registry allows businesses and not-for-profit corporations to complete over 90 transactions online, including registering, incorporating, and updating their information.

The Not-For-Profit Incorporator’s Handbook provides general information on the nature of a not-for-profit corporation and guidelines on how to incorporate such a corporation.