In December 2012, the Nova Scotia government passed the Community Interest Companies Act. The Community Interest Company may be useful for some who are starting a business and want to also help their community.
This Act will serve to permit a company formed under the Companies Act to be designated as a “Community Interest Company”, which will have characteristics of both businesses and non-profits, sometimes referred to as ‘social enterprise”. This legislation will create certain restrictions and filing obligations and the bill can be accessed at http://nslegislature.ca/legc/bills/61st_4th/3rd_read/b153.htm