Imagine that a company received special treatment and a big benefit from the provincial government, say taking over a crown corporation or receiving a big contract. Wouldn't it be nice to look at who owns shares in the company so as to check whether shareholders include any politicians or their friends? You could do that in BC until March 29, 2004, when the Campbell government shrouded corporations in a veil of secrecy.

On Sunday August 8th Peter Warren had a regular guest on his weekend talk show, investigator Bruce Bowie. With minutes left in the show, Bowie dropped a bombshell. He alleged that the Campbell government had changed the law to prohibit access to the list of company shareholders. Substantial research has shown that Bowie was right! He went on to say that since March 29, 2004, BC has the highest level of corporate secrecy in the country.

In 1998 The Hon. Madam Justice Morrison ruled that anyone can attend the registered office of a company and examine the list of shareholders. She said that the provisions in the 1996 Company Act requiring an affidavit saying that the use of the list would be for corporate purposes, only apply when a copy of the list is requested, but not when someone simply wants to view the list.

In 2002 the Campbell government replaced the Companies Act with the Business Corporations Act. One of its many changes was to overrule the effect of the court's decision. It strictly prohibited access to the list of shareholders for any company, public and private, but the government failed to let anyone know that its legislative language was designed to have that effect. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Finance confirmed that elimination of the right to view the shareholder list was an intentional change. There's not one word about that change in the government's news release. Bowie announced on Warren's show that a lawyer responsible for a company share register proudly told him the date when the new legislation was proclaimed, March 29, 2004, and that as of that date the share register was not open for inspection, except for corporate purposes.

On the front page of the Vancouver Sun's Business Section on August 21st, David Bains elaborated on the elimination of the right to inspect share registries and noted that one of his colleagues had used the former provision to investigate Bill Vander Zalm's holdings. Bains' article went on to say that in the Bahamas shareholder records are being opened to examination at the same time BC moves in the opposite direction. Later in the day Bowie again appeared on Warren's national radio show and said that not being able to access share registers hinders investigations into everything from money laundering to disputes over property during marriage breakdowns. BC's Registrar of Companies, John Powell, joined Warren and said that the government was committed to an annual review of the new legislation and making changes if necessary. It appears that the government failed to do adequate due diligence before making substantial changes; what's new!

An attempt was made to change the Company Act in 1999; a new version passed the legislature but was never proclaimed into law. During debate on the 1999 statute, Geoff Plant said "over time, different provisions will get scrutinized in different ways, and it may turn out that after a court has interpreted them, it will be seen by everybody that the provision isn't worded in a way that works. I don't think that the committee stage process for a bill like this is the place to have that debate. We could be here for years attempting to tease out of all the provisions of this bill the various potential arguments that might arise with respect to their interpretation." Changes with respect to the inspection of corporate records were not debated at that time, but other provisions such as the requirement that a company have a resident BC director were examined. When the Campbell government proceeded with its legislation in 2002, it eliminated the requirement for a resident BC director. It also took, whether it wants it or not, full responsibility for all changes and their implementation.

Plant had it right in 1999. Not all provisions are worded in a way that works. Keeping the shareholder registry secret doesn't work, and should be changed in October when the legislature next sits. Plant, Collins and Campbell are in a position where they are attempting to justify turning confidential medical records from MSP and Pharmacare over to a US company that is subject to the US Patriot Act at the same time they are responsible for shrouding BC companies in a veil of secrecy. They have it backwards.

The Campbell government has eliminated access to information regarding BC Ferries. The contract released by the government for the sale of BC Rail contains substantial blacked out clauses, including some headings in the table of contents. It has cut the budget for the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Commissioner. Until Bowie and Warren broke the news, no one realized that the Campbell government also cut off access to information for corporate registries. In 2001 Gordon Campbell promised a new era of openness and transparency; he has delivered the opposite.