Canada Gazette, Part I, Volume 147, Number 43: GOVERNMENT NOTICES
October 26, 2013
DEPARTMENT OF CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION
IMMIGRATION AND REFUGEE PROTECTION ACT
Ministerial Instructions Respecting the Start-up Business Class, 2013-2
The Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, pursuant to section 14.1 (see footnote a) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (see footnote b), gives the annexed Ministerial Instructions Respecting the Start-up Business Class, 2013-2.
Ottawa, October 15, 2013
CHRIS ALEXANDER
Minister of Citizenship and Immigration
MINISTERIAL INSTRUCTIONS RESPECTING THE START-UP BUSINESS CLASS, 2013-2
Definitions
1. The following definitions apply in these Instructions.
“Act”
« Loi »
“Act” means the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
“applicant”
« demandeur »
“applicant” means a foreign national who makes an application for a permanent resident visa as a member of the start-up business class.
“Canadian Language Benchmarks”
« Canadian Language Benchmarks »
“Canadian Language Benchmarks” has the same meaning as in section 2 of the Regulations.
“commitment”
« engagement »
“commitment” means a commitment referred to in paragraph 2(2)(a) that meets the requirements of section 6.
“designated”
« désigné »
“designated”, in respect of a business incubator, an angel investor group or a venture capital fund, means designated under section 4.
“investing”
« investir »
“investing” means buying shares or other forms of equity in a qualifying business.
“language skill area”
« habileté langagière »
“language skill area” means speaking, oral comprehension, reading or writing.
“Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens”
« Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens »
“Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens” has the same meaning as in section 2 of the Regulations.
“qualified participant”
« participant admissible »
“qualified participant” means, in respect of a business,
- (a) an applicant in respect of the business;
- (b) a foreign national who has been issued a permanent resident visa as a member of the start-up business class in respect of the business;
- (c) a designated business incubator;
- (d) a designated angel investor group; or
- (e) a designated venture capital fund.
“qualifying business”
« entreprise admissible »
“qualifying business” means a business that meets the requirements of section 7.
“Regulations”
« Règlement »
“Regulations” means the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations.
Establishment of start-up business class
2. (1) The start-up business class is established as part of the economic class referred to in subsection 12(2) of the Act and consists of foreign nationals who have the ability to become economically established in Canada and meet the requirements of this section.
Member of class
(2) An applicant is a member of the start-up business class if they
- (a) have obtained a commitment from
- (i) a designated business incubator confirming that it is accepting the applicant’s qualifying business into its business incubator program,
- (ii) a designated angel investor group confirming that it is investing at least $75,000 in the applicant’s qualifying business or two or more designated angel investor groups confirming that they are together investing a total of at least $75,000 in that business, or
- (iii) a designated venture capital fund confirming that it is investing at least $200,000 in the applicant’s qualifying business or two or more designated venture capital funds confirming that they are together investing a total of at least $200,000 in that business;
- (b) have attained a level of proficiency of at least benchmark level 5 in either official language for all the four language skill areas, as set out in the Canadian Language Benchmarks and the Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens, as demonstrated by the results of an evaluation conducted by an organization or institution designated by the Minister for the purpose of evaluating language proficiency under subsection 74(3) of the Regulations;
- (c) have completed at least one year of post-secondary education during which the applicant was in good standing at the educational institution, whether or not the applicant obtained an educational credential; and
- (d) have in the form of transferable and available funds, unencumbered by debts or other obligations, an amount that is equal to one half of the amount identified, in the most recent edition of the publication concerning low income cut-offs published annually by Statistics Canada under the Statistics Act, for urban areas of residence of 500,000 persons or more as the minimum amount of before-tax annual income necessary to support a group of persons equal in number to the total number of the applicant and their family members.
Syndication
(3) An applicant who obtains a commitment involving more than one entity is still considered eligible to be a member of the start-up business class if
- (a) the total amount invested in the qualifying business is at least $75,000, in the case of a commitment from or involving a designated angel investor group but not a designated venture capital fund; and
- (b) the total amount invested in the qualifying business is at least $200,000, in the case of a commitment from or involving a designated venture capital fund.
Limit
(4) No more than five applicants are to be considered members of the start-up business class in respect of the same business.
Improper purpose
(5) An applicant is not to be considered a member of the start-up business class if the applicant intends to participate, or has participated, in an agreement or arrangement in respect of the commitment primarily for the purpose of acquiring a status or privilege under the Act and not for the purpose of engaging in the business activity for which the commitment was intended.
Agreements with industry associations
3. (1) The Minister may enter into an agreement with an industry association representing business incubators, angel investor groups or venture capital funds to provide for any matter related to these Instructions, including
- (a) the making of recommendations and the provision of advice to the Minister on the designation of entities of the type represented by the association and on the revocation of such designations;
- (b) the establishment of criteria, standards of conduct and best practices for the making of commitments or the performance of other activities under these Instructions by entities of the type represented by the association;
- (c) the making of recommendations and the provision of advice to the Minister on the operation of these Instructions;
- (d) the establishment of peer review panels to independently assess commitments;
- (e) the submission of reports to the Minister on the activities of its members under these Instructions; and
- (f) any other function or matter considered by the parties to be relevant to these Instructions.
Termination of agreements
(2) The Minister may terminate an agreement if the industry association breaches the agreement or for any other reason specified in the agreement.
Designation
4. For the purposes of these Instructions,
- (a) the entities set out in Schedule 1 are designated as business incubators;
- (b) the entities set out in Schedule 2 are designated as angel investor groups; and
- (c) the entities set out in Schedule 3 are designated as venture capital funds.
Status of entities
5. For greater certainty, a business incubator, an angel investor group or a venture capital fund designated under section 4 is considered not to be under the control of the Minister in respect of any matter relating to these Instructions.
Form of commitment
6. (1) A commitment must be in a written or electronic form that is acceptable to the Minister and be signed by a person with the authority to bind the designated business incubator, designated angel investor group or designated venture capital fund, as the case may be.
Conditional commitment
(2) If two or more applicants make an application that is based on the same commitment, that commitment may be conditional on the issuance of a permanent resident visa to one or more of those applicants.
Contents of commitment — business incubator
(3) A commitment made by a designated business incubator must
- (a) identify the applicant;
- (b) confirm that the applicant’s qualifying business has been accepted into its business incubator program;
- (c) specify the period of time for which the applicant will be in the business incubator program if such a period has been established;
- (d) describe the nature of the business operations to be carried out by the applicant;
- (e) describe the applicant’s role in the business;
- (f) confirm that the applicant has control over the intellectual property or other assets that the applicant is bringing to the business;
- (g) describe the legal and financial structure of the business;
- (h) identify the role of any other person who holds or is expected to hold an interest in the business and describe their role in the business;
- (i) confirm that it has performed a due diligence assessment of the applicant and the business;
- (j) specify any terms and conditions applicable to its business incubator program or to the commitment; and
- (k) confirm that the business it has accepted into its business incubator program is a qualifying business.
Contents of commitment — angel investor group or venture capital fund
(4) A commitment made by a designated angel investor group or a designated venture capital fund must
- (a) identify the applicant;
- (b) describe the nature of the business operations to be carried out by the applicant;
- (c) describe the applicant’s role in the business;
- (d) confirm that the applicant has control over the intellectual property or other assets that the applicant is bringing to the business;
- (e) describe the legal and financial structure of the business;
- (f) identify the role of any other person who holds or is expected to hold an interest in the business and describe their role in the business;
- (g) confirm that the designated angel investor group or the designated venture capital fund has performed a due diligence assessment of the applicant, the business and the investment;
- (h) confirm that the designated angel investor group or the designated venture capital fund is investing in a business that is a qualifying business;
- (i) specify the amount of the investment; and
- (j) specify any terms and conditions applicable to the investment or to the commitment.
Multiple applicants
(5) If there is more than one applicant in respect of the same business, the commitment must
- (a) include information on all the applicants; and
- (b) identify those applicants that the entity making the commitment considers essential to the business.
Qualifying business
7. (1) For the purposes of these Instructions, a corporation that is incorporated in and carrying on business in Canada is a qualifying business if, at the time the commitment is made,
- (a) the applicant holds 10% or more of the voting rights attached to all shares of the corporation outstanding at that time; and
- (b) no persons or entities, other than qualified participants, hold 50% or more of the total amount of the voting rights attached to all shares of the corporation outstanding at that time.
Conditional incorporation of business
(2) A business that is not incorporated at the time the commitment is made is still considered to be a qualifying business if its incorporation is conditional on the issuance of a permanent resident visa to one or more of the applicants in respect of that business.
Documentation
8. (1) An applicant must provide documentation to establish that the applicant is a member of the start-up business class, including
- (a) evidence of payment of the applicable fees set out in these Instructions;
- (b) a signed copy of the commitment;
- (c) written evidence that the applicant has attained the level of language proficiency required by paragraph 2(2)(b);
- (d) written evidence that the applicant has the education required by paragraph 2(2)(c); and
- (e) written evidence that the applicant has the funds required by paragraph 2(2)(d).
Conclusive evidence
(2) For the purposes of these Instructions, the results of an evaluation of an applicant’s language proficiency by a designated organization or institution and the correlation of those results with the benchmarks in accordance with the Regulations are conclusive evidence of the applicant’s proficiency in the official languages of Canada.
Minimal requirements
9. (1) Subject to section 12, an application for a permanent resident visa as a member of the start-up business class must be refused and no further assessment is required if the applicant does not meet the requirements of subsection 2(2).
Multiple applicants
(2) If there is more than one applicant in respect of the same business and one of the applicants, who was identified in the commitment as being essential to the business, is refused a permanent resident visa for any reason, the other applicants must be considered not to have met the requirements of subsection 2(2) and their applications must also be refused.
Application for visa
(3) An officer must issue a permanent resident visa to the applicant and their accompanying family members if the applicant and their family members, whether accompanying or not, are not inadmissible and meet the requirements of the Act, the provisions of the Regulations applicable to the start-up business class and these Instructions.
Production of other documents
10. For the purposes of evaluating an application referred to in subsection 9(1), an officer may, in addition to the documentation listed in subsection 8(1), require the production of documentation relating to the applicant, the commitment and the program or business that is in the possession or control of the applicant or the entity making the commitment.
Peer review
11. (1) An officer may request that a commitment in respect of a qualifying business in an application referred to in subsection 9(1) be independently assessed by a peer review panel established under an agreement referred to in section 3 by an industry association representing the type of entity making the commitment.
Grounds for review
(2) A request referred to in subsection (1) may be made if the officer is of the opinion that such an assessment would assist in the application process. It may also be made on a random basis.
Independent assessment
(3) The peer review panel must provide the officer with its assessment of whether due diligence was performed by the entity that made the commitment.
Final decision
(4) The officer must consider the assessment provided by the peer review panel, but is not bound by it when making a decision as to whether the applicant meets the requirements of these Instructions.
Status of peer review panel
(5) For greater certainty, a peer review panel is considered not to be under the control of the Minister in respect of any matter relating to these Instructions.
Substituted evaluation
12. (1) Whether or not an applicant meets the requirements set out in subsection 2(2), an officer may substitute their evaluation of the applicant’s ability to become economically established in Canada if those requirements are not a sufficient indicator of whether the applicant will become economically established in Canada.
Exception
(2) Despite subsection (1), if an applicant does not meet the requirement set out in paragraph 2(2)(a), an officer is not authorized under that subsection to substitute a positive evaluation of the applicant’s ability to become economically established in Canada.
Concurrence
(3) An evaluation made under subsection (1) requires the written concurrence of a second officer.
Processing fees
13. The following fees are payable for processing an application for a permanent resident visa in respect of the start-up business class:
- (a) in respect of a principal applicant, $1,050;
- (b) in respect of a family member of the principal applicant who is 22 years of age or older or is less than 22 years of age and is a spouse or common-law partner, $550; and
- (c) in respect of a family member of the principal applicant who is less than 22 years of age and is not a spouse or common-law partner, $150.
Non-application
14. (1) The following provisions of the Regulations do not apply to the start-up business class:
- (a) sections 108 and 109; and
- (b) paragraph 295(1)(c).
Application of section 107 of Regulations
(2) Section 107 of the Regulations applies to the start-up business class, with such modifications as the circumstances require.
Repeal
15. The Ministerial Instructions Respecting the Start-up Business Class, published in the Canada Gazette, Part Ⅰ, on March 30, 2013 are repealed.
Effective period
16. These Instructions have effect during the period beginning on October 26, 2013 and ending on March 31, 2018.
SCHEDULE 1
(Paragraph 4(a))
DESIGNATED BUSINESS INCUBATORS
- Communitech
- GrowLab
- Innovacorp
- Innovate Calgary
- Toronto Business Development Centre (TBDC)
SCHEDULE 2
(Paragraph 4(b))
DESIGNATED ANGEL INVESTOR GROUPS
- Angel One Network Inc.
- First Angel Network Association
- Golden Triangle Angel Network
SCHEDULE 3
(Paragraph 4(c))
DESIGNATED VENTURE CAPITAL FUNDS
- Advantage Growth (No.2) L.P.
- BDC Venture Capital
- Blackberry Partners Fund II LP (d.b.a. Relay Ventures Fund II)
- Canadian Accelerator Fund Ltd.
- Celtic House Venture Partners Fund III LP
- Celtic House Venture Partners Fund IV LP
- DRI Capital Inc.
- Golden Opportunities Fund Inc.
- INOVIA CAPITAL INC.
- Lumira Capital
- MaRS Cleantech Fund LP
- New Brunswick Innovation Foundation Inc. / Fondation de l’innovation du Nouveau-Brunswick Inc.
- OMERS Ventures Management Inc.
- Ontario SME Capital Corporation
- Panagea Ventures Fund III, LP
- PRIVEQ III Limited Partnership
- PRIVEQ IV Limited Partnership
- Quorum Investment Pool Limited Partnership
- Quorum Secured Equity Trust
- Real Ventures
- Rho Canada Ventures
- Rogers Venture Partners, LLC
- Summerhill Venture Partners Management Inc.
- Tandem Expansion Management Inc.
- Vanedge Capital Limited Partnership
- Version One Ventures
- Wellington Financial LP
- Westcap Mgt. Ltd.
- Yaletown Venture Partners Inc.
[43-1-o]
DEPARTMENT OF INDUSTRY
CANADA CORPORATIONS ACT
Application for surrender of charter
| File No. | Name of Company | Received |
|---|---|---|
| 449582-9 | Hearts of Peace Everywhere Inc. | 04/09/2013 |
| 789689-1 | Toronto Cristo Rey School | 19/09/2013 |
October 17, 2013
MARCIE GIROUARD
Director
For the Minister of Industry
[43-1-o]
DEPARTMENT OF INDUSTRY
CANADA CORPORATIONS ACT
Supplementary letters patent
| File No. | Name of Company | Date of S.L.P. |
|---|---|---|
| 034883-0 | Canadian Nurses Association Association des infirmières et infirmiers du Canada |
19/09/2013 |
| 792266-3 | Ottawa Coalition to End Violence Against Women | 18/09/2013 |
October 17, 2013
MARCIE GIROUARD
Director
For the Minister of Industry
[43-1-o]
DEPARTMENT OF INDUSTRY
ELECTRICITY AND GAS INSPECTION ACT
Delegation of authorities by the President of Measurement Canada
Notice is hereby given, pursuant to subsection 4(2) of the Electricity and Gas Inspection Regulations, that the President of Measurement Canada, pursuant to subsection 4(1) of the Regulations, proposes to delegate to the organization set out in column I of the Schedule the functions under the Electricity and Gas Inspection Act set out in column II thereof.
SCHEDULE
| Column I | Column II |
|---|---|
Elster Solutions, LLC At testing facilities in Elster Solutions, LLC and Elster AMCO de Mexico, S de RL de CV |
8(1): For the purposes of section 5 of the Act, the calibration of a measuring apparatus referred to in section 7 shall be certified by the director. Elster Solutions, LLC is being delegated this function for the following types of measuring apparatus: Electricity meter calibration consoles. |
October 26, 2013
ALAN E. JOHNSTON
President
Measurement Canada
[43-1-o]