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5 Bill C-15 Division Summaries with Vote Questions. Read each summary. Then vote below.
- Division 35: Naskapi/Cree/Naskapi
- Division 36: Canada Student Finance
- Division 37: Money Laundering
- Division 38: Borrowing Authority
- Division 39: Co-op/Corp Dissolutions
DIVISION 35 — Naskapi and the Cree-Naskapi Commission Act
What the Bill Says Sections 195 and 196 of the Naskapi and the Cree-Naskapi Commission Act are repealed.
Plain Language Summary Sections 195 and 196 were transitional provisions from the original 1984 Act governing the handover of administrative responsibilities to Cree and Naskapi band governments following the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement. Forty years on, those transitions are long complete. The government's explanation: housekeeping — spent provisions removed from active Legislation.
A Closer Look Two sentences. No fanfare. Easy to scroll past.
But the Cree-Naskapi Commission still exists. It still reports annually to Parliament on the implementation of Cree and Naskapi self-government. And this single clause — buried in a 45-division omnibus Budget Bill — quietly removes the statutory record of what Canada promised those communities in 1984 and what the transition was supposed to look like.
Is it housekeeping? Possibly. But housekeeping that touches Indigenous treaty commitments, inserted into a Bill with no standalone debate, with no First Nations consent requirement and no Commission sign-off, deserves a second look.
The smallest clause in the biggest Bill is still a clause. Every word in Legislation is a choice.
DIVISION 36 Canada Student Financial Assistance Act Canada Student Financial Assistance Act (1994, c. 28) — ss. 573–575
What the Bill Says
Two new restrictions on federal student financial assistance:
Private for-profit foreign institutions (s. 573): The Minister must deny federal student loans and grants to any qualifying student enrolled at a private, for-profit post-secondary institution located outside Canada. No discretion — mandatory denial.
Provincial alignment (s. 574): If a province suspends or denies student assistance for a class of students, institutions or programs, the Minister may mirror that decision federally if satisfied there are compelling reasons to believe the assistance would facilitate an offence, risk the integrity of the assistance program, or expose students or the Crown to financial risk.
Transitional protection (s. 575): Students already enrolled at a private for-profit foreign institution in the 2025–26 loan year who continue in the same program at the same institution are grandfathered until August 1, 2029.
Plain Language Summary
Division 36 cuts off federal student aid for Canadians studying at private, for-profit schools outside Canada — think certain US trade schools, online degree mills, or offshore institutions. The ban is mandatory and permanent, with a four-year runway for students already enrolled.
The provincial alignment provision gives the federal Minister a fast-follow tool — if a province pulls funding from a category of students or institutions, Ottawa can match that decision without going through a full regulatory process, provided the threshold conditions are met.
DIVISION 37 Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act ss. 576–587
What the Bill Says
Division 37 makes a series of targeted amendments to Canada's anti-money laundering and terrorist financing framework.
Ministerial recommendation requirement (s. 578): All regulations under the Act must now be made on the recommendation of the Minister of Finance — clarifying ministerial accountability for the regulatory framework.
Disclosure prohibition for government institutions (s. 579): Government institutions and agencies that receive beneficial ownership reports — either as required or voluntarily submitted — are prohibited from disclosing those reports except to: FINTRAC, police, CRA, Agence du revenu du Québec, incorporation regulators, or prescribed entities. Protects sensitive corporate ownership data from broader government sharing.
Foreign affairs consultation (s. 580): Before recommending regulations limiting or prohibiting certain financial transactions, the Minister of Finance must consult the Minister of Foreign Affairs — formalizing foreign policy input into AML/ATF restrictions.
Registered charities (s. 581): Expands the scope of FINTRAC information-sharing provisions to cover entities that have applied for registered charity status and persons or entities that solicit financial donations from the public — not just registered charities themselves.
Real estate expansion (s. 584): Adds title insurers to the list of real estate sector entities required to verify client identity under the Regulations — effective retroactively to October 1, 2025.
Access to Information (s. 586): The new beneficial ownership disclosure prohibition (s. 9.11) added to the Access to Information Act Schedule II — protecting those reports from ATI requests.
Plain Language Summary
Division 37 tightens and clarifies Canada's money laundering and terrorist financing rules in four practical ways: it locks down who can see beneficial ownership reports, brings title insurers into the client identity verification regime, extends charity-sector oversight to donation solicitors and applicants, and formalizes foreign affairs input into financial sanctions regulations.
The retroactive coming-into-force for the title insurer provision (October 1, 2025) means it is already in effect — this bill is catching the legislation up to a regulatory change made in December 2024.
DIVISION 38 Borrowing Authority Act Borrowing Authority Act (2017, c. 20, s. 103) — s. 588
What the Bill Says
The maximum amount the federal government is authorized to borrow at any one time is raised to $2,541,000,000,000 — two trillion, five hundred and forty-one billion dollars.
Plain Language Summary
This is Canada's debt ceiling. One number, one sentence, one amendment — and it raises the federal borrowing limit by hundreds of billions of dollars. The new ceiling covers all federal borrowing combined: treasury bills, bonds, loans and any other debt instruments. Parliament is authorizing the Crown to carry that much debt outstanding at any given moment.
DIVISION 39 Measures Related to the Dissolution of Certain Corporations and Cooperatives (Listed Entities) Canada Business Corporations Act, Canada Cooperatives Act, Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act — ss. 589–591
What the Bill Says
Division 39 adds a new ground for involuntary dissolution across three federal corporate statutes: being a listed entity under the Criminal Code — meaning a terrorist organization or group formally designated by the government.
When the Minister of Public Safety notifies the Director of Corporations that a federally incorporated business, cooperative or not-for-profit is a listed entity, the Director may dissolve it by issuing a certificate of dissolution — without the standard notice period that would otherwise apply before dissolution.
The same new ground applies identically across all three Acts:
- Canada Business Corporations Act (for-profit corporations)
- Canada Cooperatives Act (cooperatives)
- Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act (charities, associations, clubs)
Plain Language Summary
If a federally incorporated entity is designated a terrorist organization under the Criminal Code, the government can now dissolve it as a corporation — fast, without the usual waiting period. The Minister of Public Safety flags it; the Director pulls the certificate. No notice, no delay.
This closes a gap where a listed entity could continue to exist as a legal corporate person even after being designated a terrorist organization.