Most common licenses and permits

• General business license – Your municipality may require you to have a general business license in order for you to start trading

• Federal business registration – If your businesses earns in excess of $30,000 per year, you must register with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)

• Provincial registration – Depending on the location of your business, you may need to register in your province. Check the requirements for your territory in the “useful resources” section below

• Doing Business As (DBA) license – This is necessary if your business operates under an assumed name, even a sole proprietorship

• Environmental permit – If your company handles or processes contaminants or pollutants, you need to obtain an environmental permit to ensure you handle and dispose of these materials properly

• Health permit – If you handle food and beverages, you require a health permit

• Police and fire permit – If your company admits members of the public as well as employees, you may require a police or fire permit

• Sales tax permit – If your business sells physical goods either online or offline, you may require a sales tax permit or seller’s permit

• Signage permit – If you operate from physical premises, your municipality may require you to acquire a permit for your signage

• Zoning permit – Municipal authorities must approve which businesses can operate within the city’s limits. Check with your local city hall to see which zoning permits you may need

Do I need to register my business?

Not all businesses need to register with the CRA. If your business, or its employees, earns less than $30,000 per year, you will not need to register. If you exceed this threshold, however, you must obtain a Business Number from the CRA. Depending on the nature of your operations, you may also need to register with some of the following programs:

• Goods and Services Tax (GST) or Harmonized Sales Tax (HST)

• Payroll taxes, including Canada Pension Plan contributions

• Corporate income tax

• Import or export duties

• Excise duties

• Registered charity work

• Insurance premium tax

• Air travellers security charge

Do I need a license to work from home?

Many freelancers and sole proprietors work from home, including:

• Graphic designers

• Web and app developers

• Copywriters

These would most likely not need a license to work from home. However, if you use your home as a business premises that admits members of the public (like daycare operators or private tutors), you may need to obtain a license to run your business from home. Business insurance, such as public liability insurance, would likely also need to be obtained.

Understanding data privacy compliance

As a consequence of doing business, your company may well find itself handling sensitive personal data for customers, employees and stakeholders. Therefore, you must adhere to strict data privacy regulations in order to ensure that data is handled, stored and disposed of properly.

Common examples of sensitive data include:

• Names

• ID numbers

• Employee income details

• Credit records

• Loan records

• Medical records

• Dispute records

• Opinions, comments and personal disclosures

• Employee files and evaluations

PIPEDA

Although there is no single uniform set of regulations for Canadian data compliance, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) is as close as it gets.

PIPEDA applies to all businesses and organizations that collect, use or disclose personal data through the course of their business operations.

Alberta, British Columbia and Quebec have their own data privacy laws pertaining to the private sector. However, these are functionally very similar to PIPEDA.

In order to protect personal data, you must follow 10 principles of fair information in all data governance. These are:

• Accountability

• Identifying purposes

• Consent

• Limiting use, disclosure and retention

• Limiting collection

• Accuracy

• Safeguards

• Openness

• Individual access

• Challenging compliance

GDPR

Businesses that are international in scope may need to adhere to the data protection and privacy laws of other nations. The most prominent example of this is Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR. This set of regulations applies to Canadian businesses that either:

• Offer goods or services to customers within the European Union (EU)

• Monitor the behaviour of individuals within the EU

• Have an establishment within the EU

You can find out more about GDPR compliance from the European Commission website.

Labour and employment laws

If your company has (or will have) employees, you are also liable for compliance with labour and employment laws. Depending on the areas in which your company operates, federal or provincial laws may apply. While these are numerous, here is a brief summary of employers’ minimum obligations to their employees under Canada Employment Law:

• Most provinces define a working week as 40 hours, although there is some variance between provinces

• States such as Ontario also have enshrined a “right to disconnect” for employees

• Employees are entitled to statutory benefits such as employment insurance, sick leave, maternity/paternity leave and Canadian Pension Plan contributions

• Employers have an obligation to pay employees at least the statutory minimum wage for their province

• Federal employees are generally entitled to a minimum of two weeks of annual vacation, while many provinces allow a minimum of three weeks

Ensuring tax compliance

As well as paying business income tax on your company’s earnings, you may be liable for Goods and Services Tax (GST) or Harmonized Sales Tax (HST). Unless you are classed as a small supplier (a company earning less than $30,000 per year), this will apply if you sell goods or services anywhere in Canada. Non-profit organizations and public service bodies may earn up to $50,000 per year without paying GST. Rates range from 5% to 15% depending on your province.