Canada Growth Fund: GIC Approval Exemption

Summary#

These final regulations change the Crown Corporation General Regulations, 1995 to exempt the Canada Growth Fund Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiaries from section 91 of the Financial Administration Act. The change took effect on the day the regulations were registered: December 2, 2022.

What it does#

• Removes the requirement that the Canada Growth Fund Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiaries get approval from the Governor in Council for certain transactions covered by section 91 of the Financial Administration Act.
• In practice, that means the fund can more quickly incorporate subsidiaries, buy or sell shares, and enter other investment deals without seeking GIC approval for each step.
• The exemption applies only while the fund is a subsidiary of the Canada Development Investment Corporation (CDEV); the government says it will create a permanent, independent structure for the fund in 2023.

Who's affected#

• Directly affected: Canada Growth Fund Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiaries.
• Likely to notice the change: companies and projects seeking investment from the fund, and private investors and partners who would work with the fund.
• The government and CDEV are involved in oversight while the fund remains a CDEV subsidiary.
• The regulation itself says small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that the fund targets could benefit; no other stakeholder groups were identified as being negatively affected.

Why it matters#

• It lets the fund move faster. Removing the need for GIC approval avoids delays that could take months and cause missed investment opportunities.
• Faster decision-making aims to make the fund more credible to private partners and more competitive for clean-technology and decarbonization projects.
• The change is temporary in structure: the government plans to put the same operational independence into law when the fund becomes permanently independent in 2023.