Recently, a group of prominent executives released an open letter and document known as Commonsense Principles 2.0. Signatories include Mark Machin of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway. The purpose of the letter and the principles is to encourage companies to embrace a long-term view and enhance trust between investors and companies to improve the health of public capital markets. By virtue of the parties to the letter…

The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) released its decision on November 9, 2018, holding that the proposed co-operative pan-Canadian securities regulator, known as the Cooperative Capital Markets Regulatory System (CCMR), is constitutional. Background and Analysis The CCMR first emerged in 2014 following the rejection of an earlier proposal by the SCC in 2011 on the basis that the main thrust of the earlier proposal was for the federal government to regulate, on an exclusive basis,…

On October 4, 2018, the Canadian securities administrators published the final version of the amendments that will create a new regime for liquid alternative mutual funds (alt funds). The regime will come into effect on January 3, 2019 and could provide retail investors with greater access to alternative investment strategies, including leveraged and market neutral portfolios. Leverage Key to the regime is the ability of alt funds to use leverage. The leverage limit is effectively…

It’s fall, which means it’s time for the annual Canadian Securities Administrators staff review of disclosure made by public companies under Form 58-101F1 Corporate Governance Disclosure, particularly as it relates to gender diversity among corporate leadership. The 2018 review is the fourth such annual review, with previous reviews having been published in 2015, 2016, and 2017. Here are the five things you should know about the 2018 staff review. For more details,…

The British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC) published proposed amendments (Proposed Amendments) to British Columbia Instrument 13-502 Electronic Filing of Reports of Exempt Distribution that would require investment fund issuers to use BCSC eServices when submitting Form 45-106F1s filed on an annual basis (currently these annual filings are submitted as paper filings to the BCSC).  The Proposed Amendments would allow payments to be made through BCSC eServices or by cheque. The Proposed Amendments will result in…

The Ontario Securities Commission released OSC Staff Notice 33-749 Annual Summary Report for Dealers, Advisers and Investment Fund Managers on August 23, 2018 (Staff Notice). The Staff Notice included, at Part 1.3, a review of the recent activities of the OSC LaunchPad.  The LaunchPad is actively engaged with novel fintech businesses providing support in navigating regulatory requirements.  The Staff Notice highlighted the following key accomplishments of the OSC LaunchPad in fiscal 2017-2018: 242 Meetings with…

The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) published amendments (Amendments) to National Instrument 45-106 Prospectus Exemptions and CSA Staff Notice 45-308 Guidance for Preparing and Filing Reports of Exempt Distribution under 45-106 to change the information required within Form 45-106F1 Report of Exempt Distribution (Report). The Amendments provide more flexibility regarding the certification requirement, streamline the information required to be gathered by filers and address certain concerns raised by foreign dealers and Canadian institutional investors.  The main…