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COVID-19 Service Updates

Service Updates

Thursday January 14, 2021

Corporate Searches, Filings & Registrations – No changes to services to report at this time despite the new Provincial stay-at-home order.  We will post updates should there be changes to any services.

Legalization Services – Global Affairs update – Effective Monday January 18th, 2021 – In light of the recent Provincial order the Global Affairs Authentication Service section has implemented a new pick-up and drop-off schedule.  Documents can now only be submitted on Mondays and Wednesdays. This will be in effect until the end of the stay-at-home order, but is subject to change.

There are no changes to the authentication of documents in Toronto at Official Document Services office at this time.

 

Wednesday June 17, 2020

We are providing Document Legalization services, however, most Consulate and Embassy offices are only accepting documents by post or courier.  We will provide details on procedures and requirements on a case by case basis for each Consulate or Embassy.

Thanks again for your patience and understanding.  Be well.

Sincerely,

Joe Borrelli

Director of Operations | Centro Legal Works Inc.

 

 

Wednesday May 13, 2020

To our valued Corporate clients,

In response to COVID-19, temporary and permanent legislative amendments have been made to help corporations continue to function while still adhering to physical distancing guidelines and legal requirements.

These amendments include the acceptance of photocopied, scanned, or electronic signatures for all Ministry documents.  These changes DO NOT replace our same day processing ‘over-the-counter’ services at the Ministry.

All signed Corporate Articles and Limited Partnership Registrations can now be scanned and emailed to fi*****@ce**************.com The Centro team will continue to provide same day processing and will print, assemble and review the documents for filing at the Ministry.  All clients will continue to receive a copy of the completed filing or registration by email for confirmation and the originals will remain in our office and returned as per your instructions.

Simply put… You will continue to receive our same day service without the hassle of sending originals by courier!

Send it to fi*****@ce**************.com and consider it done!   Please have documents emailed by 3:00 pm to allow for printing, review and preparation for same day processing.

More information can be found here: COVID-19: changes to meetings and business operations 

Notice Filing Method Requirements

Please feel free to reach out should you have any questions or concerns.

Thank you once again for your continued business and we hope you and your families are safe. We will get through this together!

Sincerely,

Joe Borrelli

Director of Operations | Centro Legal Works Inc.

416.599.4040

 


 

All manual Ministry filing services are AVAILABLE for Business Names, Limited Partnerships and Corporate Articles!  The Ministry office continues operate with limited staff and reduced hours of 9:00 am to 4:00 pm.

Certified PPSA’s – We will also resume scanning Certified PPSA reports for those clients utilizing our PPSA search services.

Please courier all documents to:

Centro Legal Works Inc.
425 University Avenue, Suite 303
Toronto, Ontario M5G 1T6
416.599.4040*

*Please arrange for deliveries between the hours of 10 am and 2:30 pm to allow for same day processing.

For documents that do not require original signatures please email them to: fi*****@ce**************.com

If you have any questions please feel free to email them to:  se****@ce**************.com

We sincerely thank you once again for your patience and understanding during this difficult time and we look forward to serving you!

 


 

Tuesday April 2, 2020 – Service Updates

We are open for business but continue to self-isolate and working remotely.  Please send questions, or inquiries by email to se****@ce**************.com as we have limited access to the phones.

Here is a recap:

Electronic Due Diligence: Available!  Ontario electronic incorporations and Notices of Change, PPSA Searches & Registrations, Writs/Executions, Bank Act, Bankruptcy & Insolvency and CCAA and some Provincial Litigation searches.

Note: Ontario court searches have been suspended as per notice from Monday March 30th.  See below.

Manual Corporate & Business Name Registration ‘Ministry’ filings:  We ave suspended these services while we self-isolate and have partnered with Dye and Durham to cover these filings until we return.  We will continue to update clients on our status and return date.  More information below, see previous updates for instructions.

Document Authentication & Legalization: Due to the closure of many Consulate and Embassy offices we have suspended these services until further notice.

We will continue to provide updates on Twitter: https://twitter.com/centrolegalwrks

Again, we sincerely thank you for your patience and understanding and ask that everyone do their part in helping slow the spread of this virus and stay at home.

Sincerely,

Team Centro

c/o Joe Borrelli

 


 

Monday March 30, 2020 – Ontario Court searches suspended

Effective today the Ontario Superior Courts have closed their doors and are only allowing entry for emergency matters involving:

  • Urgent Criminal of Family proceedings
  • Urgent or essential matters for the Criminal Intake Courts
  • Urgent filing of court documents

Therefore, ALL Ontario court searches have been suspended until further notice.  This includes searches for civil Litigation, Small Claims, Bulk Sales, Manual Bankruptcy and Commercial List matters.

We apologize for the inconvenience and will continue to provide updates as they become available.

All other electronic due diligence search services remain operational.

We encourage all clients to send inquiries and questions by email as we are working remotely and have limited access to the phones.

 


 

Wednesday March 25, 2020 – Temporary Partial Closure

We remind clients that our partial closure is only temporary due to the COVID-19 state of emergency.  We are monitoring and assessing the situtation daily, should anything change we will notify clients as soon as possible.  Also, for Provincial Due Diligence searches, it’s business as usual!  See below for more details.

Again, we sincerely thank you for your understanding and positive feedback.

Sincerely,

Team Centro

 


 

 

Monday March 23, 2020 – 2:30 PM – New Updates

The recent announcement of the closure of all non-essential services may include the Ministry of Government Services – Companies Branch.  The list of non-essential services will be released tomorrow by noon.  Please let your clients know that filings and registrations may not be able to be processed pending this potential closure.  We will provide updates as soon as we are aware of any changes.

We ask that you arrange for courier pick-up asap for any document(s) you would like returned to your office.

Stay tuned for additional updates.

Other matters:

The Nova Scotia Courts have been closed due to the state of emergency.  NS Litigation searches are not available until further notice.

Updates added hourly:  https://twitter.com/centrolegalwrks

 


 

Monday March 23, 2020 – Reduction in operating hours.

Effective immediately we are reducing our operating hours to 10:00 am to 4:00 pm Monday to Friday.  The new cut-off time for courier deliveries will now be 2:30 pm.  Documents received after this time may have to be processed the next business day. 

The Toronto Superior Court is CLOSED for searching purposes.  Toronto Litigation searches are NOT available.

Updates added daily:  https://twitter.com/centrolegalwrks

 


 

Friday March 20, 2020 – Update

**Due to the volume of documents we are implementing a daily cut-off time for courier deliveries of 3:30 pm.  We cannot guarantee same day processing for documents received after this time. We are restricting our visits to the Ministry to only twice per day.

Reminders:

  • All Document Legalization services are suspended until further notice.
  • Hold filings and registrations if possible until the state of emergency is lifted.
  • All pick-up and drop-off services are suspended, documents must be delivered and picked up by courier.
  • Toronto Superior Court office hours reduced: open 10 am to 12 pm and from 2 pm to 4 pm.
  • Due Diligence search services are available. (Corporate searches, PPSA, Bank Act, Writs/Executions, Insolvency/CCAA and Court searches, both in Ontario and Provincially)

Updates added daily:  https://twitter.com/centrolegalwrks

 


 

Thursday March 19 – Service Update 

No new updates at this time.

Reminders:

  • Due Diligence search services are available. (Corporate searches, PPSA, Bank Act, Writs/Executions, Insolvency/CCAA and Court searches, both in Ontario and Provincially)
  • Hold filings and registrations if possible until the state of emergency is lifted.
  • Documents must be dropped off and picked up by courier.
  • Toronto Superior Court office hours reduced:  open 10 am to 12 noon and again from 2 pm to 4 pm.
  • All Document Legalization services are suspended until further notice.

 


 

Wednesday March 18 – Service Update 2

Toronto Superior Court offices reduce hours:  open from 10 am to 12 noon and again from 2 pm to 4 pm.  Expect delays with Toronto court searches!

 

Wednesday March 18 – Service Update

As per yesterday, any document required for filing or registration must be sent to our office by courier.  They will continue to be scanned and emailed upon completion and the originals will be available at our office for pick-up at your discretion.

**HOWEVER, we are asking all clients to strongly consider holding all documents until the situation calms down and the state of emergency is lifted.  We are trying to minimize the amount of risk to our staff and others by reducing the number of visits to the Ministry office.

EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY all document authentication and legalization services are suspended until further notice. We will do our best to complete any documents that are in process, but as of today (March 18) we are NOT accepting any new documents for legalization.  Global Affairs in Ottawa has closed to the public until further notice.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

https://twitter.com/centrolegalwrks

 


 

Tuesday March 17, 2020

EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY – Centro is suspending all pick-up services.  All filings and registrations will have to be sent to our office by courier. Our concern is the safety of our clerks and our clients and we are doing our part to maximize social distancing and reducing the amount of time our clerks are exposed to other people.  Processing times may also increase due to these measures.

Packages (for filings and registrations) can be addressed to:

Centro Legal Works Inc.
Attention: Document Filings
425 University Avenue, Suite 303
Toronto, Ontario M5G 1T6

Office hours:  8:30 am to 5 pm Monday to Friday

*Please send an email confirmation for both package deliveries and pick-ups.

Monday March 16, 2020 – Clarification

Documents will be filed same day for pick-ups requested during our standard pick-up times of 8:30 am and 3:30 pm (daily cut-off).  Our goal is to eliminate additional trips for rush services that are outside of our two daily run times of mid-morning and mid-afternoon.

 


 

Monday March 16, 2020

Please be advised that as of Monday March 16, 2020 our filing and registration services will be limited to standard processing times only, rush services will not be available.  To clarify, rush service means the pickup and filing of documents within 1 to 2 hours.  Given the current situation we are trying to limit the amount of time our staff spends in the downtown core and at client offices.

If you have a document to be picked up, filed and returned on a rush basis, you may need to arrange for courier delivery to our office.  Also, our 3:30 pm deadline for pick-ups of documents for same day processing is strictly enforced.

 


Friday March 13, 2020 

As of March 13, 2020, there have been no direct impacts to our service offerings or business operations.  However, our number one priority is the health and safety of the staff and we will take whatever precautions necessary to ensure their safety.

We have not received any indication, or information concerning the closures of either the Ministry of Government Services, or the Toronto Superior Court offices.  Therefore, all services will operate normally until further notice.

For those clients from whom we pick-up documents directly, please let us know immediately if there are any issues at your building, whether it be possible outbreaks or building closures.  If that occurs, you will have to arrange to have the packages delivered to our office for filing, registration or legalization.

We will continue to add updates to our this section of our website.

If you have any questions, please send them by EMAIL.


 

As of Thursday March 12, 2020 

It is busienss as usual at Centro!  We are monitoring the situation at the Ministry and Court offices daily and we will notify all clients of any changes or closures.  We are also in the process of setting up a remote office location in the event that our building becomes affected.  This will allow us to continue our corporate filings, registrations and legalization services with no service interruptions.  The office staff can work from home if required to cover all electronic search and registration services.

Effective immediately the Consulate of Argentina will no longer accept documents for legalization in person.  Documents will have to be sent by courier with a return envelope included in the package.

Thank you all for your patience and understanding.

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