The Department responsible for the administration of the Act is Industry Canada. For the purposes of the Act, a non-Canadian includes any entity that is not controlled or beneficially owned by Canadians. If you are a non-Canadian, then you MUST either file a Notification or an Application for Review of the investment unless a specific exemption applies . If you are a non-Canadian then you must file a notification each and every time you commence a new business activity in Canada and each time you acquire control of an existing Canadian business where the establishment or acquisition of control is not a reviewable transaction. A Notification must be filed no later than thirty days after the implementation of the investment.
Every effort is made to process applications for review as quickly as possible.
Under the Act, the Minister has 45 days to determine whether or not to allow the investment. The Minister can unilaterally extend the 45 day period by an additional 30 days by sending a notice to the investor prior to the expiration of the initial 45 day period. Further extensions are permitted if both the investor and the Minister agree to the extension. If no approval or notice of extension is received within the applicable time then the investment is deemed approved. It is not unusual for the Minister to extend the initial 45 day review period by an additional 30 days to permit full consideration of the investment.