New Brunswick will soon join Alberta, British Columbia, and Quebec as Canadian provinces with active unclaimed property laws on their books. New Brunswick recently published proposed rules in connection with their Unclaimed Property Act, which received Royal Assent on March 17, 2020 (Bill 22). Per the Financial and Consumer Services Commission (FCNB), the Act will be proclaimed and become effective with the adoption of the rules.
The proposed rules were approved for publication on September 22, 2020. Businesses and other stakeholders are invited to provide feedback by November 23, 2020. The Act, proposed rules, and the invitation to comment are available at: https://fcnb.ca/en/unclaimed-property.
The following is a summary of the Act and proposed rules.
Exemptions from the Definition of “Property”
- Gift cards;
- Property acquired from participating in a loyalty program;
- Property in a safe deposit box held by a provincially regulated credit union ,trust company, or federal financial institution;
- Property owed under an accident or sickness in-force insurance policy; and
- Property with a fair market value of less than $1.00.