You're using an outdated browser. This website will not display correctly and some features will not work.
Learn more about the browsers we support for a faster and safer online experience.

Français

ontario regulation 672/21

made under the

Legal Aid Services Act, 2020

Made: September 23, 2021
Filed: September 24, 2021
Published on e-Laws: September 24, 2021
Printed in The Ontario Gazette: October 9, 2021

General

Corporation’s investment powers

1. (1) The Corporation may invest in,

(a) bonds, debentures, promissory notes or other evidence of indebtedness issued or guaranteed by,

(i) Canada or a province or territory of Canada, or

(ii) an agency of Canada or of a province or territory of Canada;

(b) bonds, debentures, promissory notes or other evidence of indebtedness of a corporation, if,

(i) the bond, debenture, promissory note or other evidence of indebtedness is secured by the assignment to a trustee, as defined in the Trustee Act, of payments that Canada or a province or territory of Canada has agreed to make or is required to make under a federal, provincial or territorial statute, and

(ii) the payments referred to in subclause (i) are sufficient to meet the amounts payable under the bonds, debentures or other evidence of indebtedness, including the amounts payable at maturity; and

(c) deposit receipts, deposit notes, certificates of deposit or investment, acceptances or similar instruments issued, guaranteed or endorsed by,

(i) a bank listed in Schedule I or II to the Bank Act (Canada),

(ii) a loan corporation or trust corporation registered under the Loan and Trust Corporations Act,

(iii) a credit union within the meaning of the Credit Unions and Caisses Populaires Act, 1994, or

(iv) a retail association as defined under the Cooperative Credit Associations Act (Canada).

(2) The Corporation shall not make an investment under subsection (1) that is expressed or payable in any currency other than Canadian dollars.

(3) The board shall maintain a statement of the Corporation’s investment policies and goals.

Investment agent

2. (1) The Corporation may, subject to subsection (2), make investments through an agent selected by the Corporation.

(2) For the purposes of subsection (1), the Corporation shall,

(a) select as an agent a person that the Corporation is satisfied is suitable to perform the act for which the agent is selected; and

(b) provide prudent and reasonable supervision of the agent.

Investment standards

3. The investment agent or, if the Corporation makes investments directly, the members of the board are subject to the standards that apply to an administrator of a pension plan under subsections 22 (1), (2) and (4) of the Pension Benefits Act, with necessary modifications.

Investment reports

4. (1) If the Corporation makes an investment under subsection 1 (1), the board shall require the chief executive officer to provide to the board, annually or more frequently as specified by the board, an investment report that meets the requirements of subsection (2).

(2) The investment report shall contain,

(a) a statement about the performance of the Corporation’s portfolio of investments during the period covered by the report;

(b) a statement of the chief executive officer’s opinion as to whether or not all investments were made in accordance with the investment policies and goals in the statement referred to in subsection 1 (3); and

(c) any other information that the board may require or that, in the chief executive officer’s opinion, should be included.

Contingency reserve fund

5. The Corporation shall maintain and operate a contingency reserve fund in accordance with the following requirements:

1. The Corporation shall, when it is able to do so without affecting the provision of legal aid services but subject to paragraph 2, pay capital amounts from its net accumulated surpluses into the fund.

2. The total capital amount of the fund shall not exceed $20,000,000.

3. The amount of the fund shall not exceed the sum of,

i. the maximum capital amount specified in paragraph 2,

ii. any interest earned on the capital amounts paid into the fund, and

iii. any income from investments made by the Corporation.

4. The Corporation may, subject to paragraph 5, withdraw capital amounts from the fund for the purpose of covering its operating expenses.

5. The Corporation shall not withdraw capital amounts of a total amount that exceeds $1,000,000 in a fiscal year without the Minister’s approval.

6. A request for the Minister’s approval for the purposes of paragraph 5 shall include,

i. an explanation of why the amounts need to be withdrawn,

ii. a schedule for repayment, and

iii. a statement of the Corporation’s plans for preventing a similar need from arising in future.

7. The Corporation shall notify the Minister of each withdrawal of capital.

8. The Corporation may, without notice to the Minister, withdraw interest or investment income from the fund at any time for the purpose of providing legal aid services.

Continued application

6. Section 9 of the Legal Aid Services Act, 1998 continues to apply.

Amendment to this Regulation

7. Subclause 1 (1) (c) (iii) of the Regulation is amended by striking out “Credit Unions and Caisses Populaires Act, 1994” and substituting “Credit Unions and Caisses Populaires Act, 2020”.

Commencement

8. (1) Subject to subsection (2), this Regulation comes into force on the later of the day section 50 of Schedule 15 to the Smarter and Stronger Justice Act, 2020 comes into force and the day this Regulation is filed.

(2) Section 7 comes into force on the later of the day section 291 of Schedule 7 (Credit Unions and Caisses Populaires Act, 2020) to the Protect, Support and Recover from COVID-19 Act (Budget Measures), 2020 comes into force and the day subclause 1 (1) (c) (iii) of this Regulation comes into force.

 

Français