New Transparency in Ontario for Non-Profits to be released in next few months

I have been concerned that it is not easy for people interested in Ontario non-profit and charity sector to obtain information on Ontario non-profit corporations.  With the Federal government the information is available online and free.  I have been requesting from the Ontario government a list of Ontario corporations, to publish the list, and to make it easier for the public to verify if an organization is an Ontario corporation.  I recently received an e-mail from the Ontario Ministry of Government Services.  They advised “when the new Ontario Business Information System (ONBIS) is launched (tentatively scheduled for July 1, 2013), most of the data you are requesting will be available to the public online and free of charge.  Fundamental information about a corporation such as the name, corporation number, date of incorporation, type and status will all be available.  The Ontario Not-for-Profit Corporations Act, 2010 is currently targeted to come into effect at the same time as the new ONBIS system.” Making some basic information from the ONBIS system available to everyone free of charge is a small but important step in assisting Ontario non-profits with the ONCA.