Canada Business Corporations Act

Marginal note:Access to corporate records

• 21 (1) Subject to subsection (1.1), shareholders and creditors of a corporation, their personal representatives and the Director may examine the records described in subsection 20(1) during the usual business hours of the corporation, and may take extracts from the records, free of charge, and, if the corporation is a distributing corporation, any other person may do so on payment of a reasonable fee.

• Marginal note:Requirement for affidavit — securities register

  (1.1) Any person described in subsection (1) who wishes to examine the securities register of a distributing corporation must first make a request to the corporation or its agent or mandatary, accompanied by an affidavit referred to in subsection (7). On receipt of the affidavit, the corporation or its agent or mandatary shall allow the applicant access to the securities register during the corporation’s usual business hours, and, on payment of a reasonable fee, provide the applicant with an extract from the securities register.

• Marginal note:Copies of corporate records

  (2) A shareholder of a corporation is entitled on request and without charge to one copy of the articles and by-laws and of any unanimous shareholder agreement.

• Marginal note:Shareholder lists

  (3) Shareholders and creditors of a corporation, their personal representatives, the Director and, if the corporation is a distributing corporation, any other person, on payment of a reasonable fee and on sending to a corporation or its agent or mandatary the affidavit referred to in subsection (7), may on application require the corporation or its agent or mandatary to provide within 10 days after the receipt of the affidavit a list (in this section referred to as the “basic list”) made up to a date not more than 10 days before the date of receipt of the affidavit setting out the names of the shareholders of the corporation, the number of shares owned by each shareholder and the address of each shareholder as shown on the records of the corporation.

• Marginal note:Supplemental lists

  (4) A person requiring a corporation to provide a basic list may, by stating in the affidavit referred to in subsection (3) that they require supplemental lists, require the corporation or its agent or mandatary on payment of a reasonable fee to provide supplemental lists setting out any changes from the basic list in the names or addresses of the shareholders and the number of shares owned by each shareholder for each business day following the date the basic list is made up to.

• Marginal note:When supplemental lists to be provided

  (5) The corporation or its agent or mandatary shall provide a supplemental list required under subsection (4)

  • (a) on the date the basic list is furnished, where the information relates to changes that took place prior to that date; and

  • (b) on the business day following the day to which the supplemental list relates, where the information relates to changes that take place on or after the date the basic list is furnished.

• Marginal note:Holders of options

  (6) A person requiring a corporation to furnish a basic list or a supplemental list may also require the corporation to include in that list the name and address of any known holder of an option or right to acquire shares of the corporation.

• Marginal note:Contents of affidavit

  (7) The affidavit required under subsection (1.1) or (3) shall state

  • (a) the name and address of the applicant;

  • (b) the name and address for service of the body corporate, if the applicant is a body corporate; and

  • (c) that the basic list and any supplemental lists obtained pursuant to subsection (4) or the information contained in the securities register obtained pursuant to subsection (1.1), as the case may be, will not be used except as permitted under subsection (9).

• Marginal note:Idem

  (8) If the applicant is a body corporate, the affidavit shall be made by a director or officer of the body corporate.

• Marginal note:Use of information or shareholder list

  (9) A list of shareholders or information from a securities register obtained under this section shall not be used by any person except in connection with

  • (a) an effort to influence the voting of shareholders of the corporation;

  • (b) an offer to acquire securities of the corporation; or

  • (c) any other matter relating to the affairs of the corporation.

• Marginal note:Offence

  (10) A person who, without reasonable cause, contravenes this section is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding five thousand dollars or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to both.