"Aaron Schroeder's company wasn't for sale, yet the offers kept coming. For years, the Vancouver-based climate engineer received a few unsolicited bids every month, sometimes a couple every week. The offers were often from larger companies and hedge funds, especially those based in the United States. When Schroeder was ready to sell Brightspot Climate, an engineering consultancy with offices in Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto, he decided to go in a different direction and create a special trust to make all 40 of his staff owners."
"Schroeder says he wanted to reward the employees that helped build the business. He also feared a sale would result in job losses and would erode the company. "If we'd sold out to a U.S. company, all of our [intellectual property] and our culture would become American. We'd be working for an American company," he said. "I do see a huge value of keeping small businesses Canadian.""
An employee ownership trust (EOT) is a vehicle in which a trust holds a company's shares on behalf of employees. The federal government amended the Income Tax Act in 2024 to introduce EOTs in Canada. Brightspot Climate converted its ownership into a special trust so all 40 staff became owners without paying money up front. The trust finances the purchase of the company and pays the owner back. Four Canadian companies have adopted EOTs since the change. Founders view EOTs as a way to reward employees, preserve jobs, retain intellectual property and company culture, and keep businesses Canadian amid retirements and trade tensions.
Read at www.cbc.ca
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