IIROC Proposes Prohibiting OES Dealers From Providing OES to Registered Dealers September 11, 2018 Stikeman Elliott On July 26, 2018, the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) proposed amendments to its Dealer Member Rules that would prohibit Dealer Members that provide order execution only services (OES Dealers) from providing OES to a client... Read more
Whistleblower Program Working Well, OSC Finds In Two-Year Review August 29, 2018 Stikeman Elliott The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) recently released an update on the progress of its whistleblower program. As we discussed in a July 2016 post, the OSC launched the program almost two years ago with the objective of encouraging individuals to report... Read more
Review of Effectiveness of Board Gender Disclosure Added to OSC Priorities for 2018-2019 August 28, 2018 Stikeman Elliott The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) has released its Statement of Priorities for the fiscal year ending March 2019. While the OSC carried forward most of the priorities from its 2017-2018 Statement of Priorities, a review of the effectiveness of disclosure... Read more
Review of Streamlined Offering Exemption Shows Improved Access to Capital, But Issues Remain August 27, 2018 Stikeman Elliott Over $500 million has been raised by Canadian reporting issuers since the adoption of a streamlined offering exemption in 2015, according to a recent CSA report. Prior to adoption of the streamlined exemption, there were about 13 prospectus-exempt rights... Read more
New Powers for the AMF to Restructure Certain Financially Distressed Québec FI’s August 20, 2018 Catherine Jenner In 2017, Québec’s Autorité des marchés financiers (“AMF”) filed a Report on the history and evolution of the deposit insurance plan for Québec deposit-taking financial institutions (“FI’s”)... Read more
CSA to Maintain Current Approach to Director and Audit Committee Member Independence August 17, 2018 Stikeman Elliott CSA find general industry support for continuing with the current approach to director and audit committee independence, in place since 2004. The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) recently published an update to the consultation process undertaken... Read more
OSC, AMF Join International Push for a Global Financial Innovation “Sandbox” Network August 13, 2018 Andrew S. Cunningham Building on existing bilateral “financial innovation sandbox” arrangements, 12 international regulators, including Canada’s AMF and OSC, are proposing to create a single Global Financial Innovation Network (GFIN). The Ontario Securities... Read more
OSC Cryptocurrency Survey Reveals Public’s Uncertainty About Blockchain Issues July 31, 2018 Stikeman Elliott The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) Investor Office released a report on June 28, 2018 discussing the results of a survey of over 2,600 Ontario residents’ knowledge of (and experiences with) cryptocurrencies. Entitled Taking Caution: Financial... Read more
TSX Proposes Additional Flexibility for Issuers in Cases of Dilutive Acquisitions July 20, 2018 Stikeman Elliott On June 14, 2018, the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) proposed allowing issuers to issue additional shares beyond the amount for which they have already obtained shareholder approval to use as compensation for the acquisition of a public company. Where shareholder... Read more
U.S. Supreme Court Refuses to Hear Challenge to FATCA July 5, 2018 Roanne C. Bratz The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal from the U.S. Court of Appeals’ ruling in the Crawford case, in which the constitutionality of FATCA was unsuccessfully argued. While the Republican Party has previously shown some sympathy for... Read more