On October 23, 2017, the Ontario Securities Commission (“OSC”) has granted approval to the province’s first regulated Initial Coin Offering (“ICO”) in a decision (“decision”). The OSC granted regulatory relief to Toronto-based TokenFunder Inc. (“TokenFunder”). This exempts ToeknFunder from the dealer registration requirements and allows…
On October 19, 2017, the Canadian Securities Administrators (“CSA”) published CSA Staff Notice 33-321 Cyber Security and Social Media, (“Notice”) which summarizes survey results of registered firms’ cyber security and social media practices, in addition to providing guidance to firms in these areas. According to…
On September 21, 2017, the British Columbia Securities Commission (“BCSC”) published the amended BC Instrument 45-535 Start-up Crowdfunding Registration and Prospectus Exemptions, (the “BC Instrument 45-515”), which details improvements to crowdfunding rules that will enable BC-based issuers to access investors in Alberta when conducting crowdfunding…
On September 21, 2017, the British Columbia Securities Commission (“BCSC”) published the amended BC Instrument 45-535 Start-up Crowdfunding Registration and Prospectus Exemptions, (the “BC Instrument 45-515”), which details improvements to crowdfunding rules that will enable BC-based issuers to access investors in Alberta when conducting crowdfunding…
On September 28, 2017, the Canadian Securities Administrators (“CSA”) announced the implementation of Multilateral Instrument 91-102 Prohibition of Binary Options (“MI 91-102” or the “Instrument”) and the Companion Policy 91-102 Prohibition of Binary Options (“CP 91-102” or the “Companion Policy”), which makes it illegal to…
On March 7, 2017, Bill 101, Enhancing Shareholders Rights Act, 2017, was introduced in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario for amending the Business Corporations Act (Ontario) (“OBCA”). Bill 101 received second reading on March 9, 2017. Bill 101 propositions include: (1) reducing the minimum requirement…
On April 4, 2017, the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) published for comment Proposed National Instrument 93-101 Derivatives: Business Conduct (“Proposed Instrument”) and a related proposed companion policy, 93-101 Derivatives: Business Conduct (“Proposed CP”). The comment period will last 150 days, closing on September 1, 2017, during…
Introduction Mortgage investment corporations (“MICs”) are created under section 130.1 of the Income Tax Act which sets out the rules that apply to mortgage investment corporations and their shareholders. MICs primarily invest in mortgages including commercial, industrial, developmental and residential mortgages and are designed to…
On September 6th, 2017 the British Columbia Securities Commission (“BCSC”) announced the first registration of an investment fund manager in Canada solely dedicated to cryptocurrency investments. The BCSC has granted First Block Capital Inc. registration as an investment fund manager and an exempt market dealer in…
In late July 2017, the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) published the final amendments (the Amendments) to National Instrument 31-103 Registration Requirements, Exemptions and Ongoing Registrant Obligations (NI 31-103) and National Instrument 33-109 Registration Information (NI 33-109) and their respective Companion Policies, 31-103CP and 33-109CP. The…