The Retail Payments Activities Act was enacted by the Parliament of Canada and passed into law, on June 29, 2021, with regulations published on November 22, 2023. On December 12, 2023, the Bank of Canada published guidance entitled Criteria for registering payment service providers (Guidance)….
The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) have provided updated guidance on virtual shareholder meetings. During the pandemic, virtual shareholder meetings became necessary due to quarantine restrictions. In the period following the pandemic, the practice has continued, with the amending of certain Canadian corporate statutes that govern…
The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) has published its 2023 review of systemic market risk in the Canadian capital markets, The 2023 Annual Report on Capital Markets (the Report). The Report is the regulator’s analysis of recent financial market trends and key vulnerabilities in Canadian capital markets. Overall,…
Toronto, February 12, 2024: BAX Securities Law is pleased to announce that the firm will resume its sponsorship of the Toronto Business Lawyers Association (TBLA) networking and business development monthly meetings. Barbara Hendrickson, Managing Partner of BAX Securities Law, commented, “We are excited to resume…
An area of enforcement activity has been in the syndicated mortgage area, Syndicated mortgages continue to be a regulatory minefield for many issuers. A case in point is the story of Hi-Rise Capital, a Toronto-based provider of syndicated mortgages. In May 2023, the mortgage syndicator…
Barbara Hendrickson is the author of recent practice note entitled “Underwriting Conflicts” which appears in Lexis Nexis Practical Guidance Canada. This practice note provides an introduction to Canadian securities law with respect to underwriter’s conflicts as set out in National Instrument 33-105 Underwriter’s Conflicts (“NI…
The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA) has approved the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) as a credentialing body under Ontario’s Financial Professionals Title Protection Act, 2019 (FPTPA) The approval by FSRA means CIRO now has the authority to grant credentials that permit individuals to use…
The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) has published for a 90-day comment period ending April 17, 2024, Proposed Amendments to National Instrument 81-102 Investment Funds Pertaining to Crypto and proposed changes to Companion Policy 81-102CP Investment Funds (81-102CP) (the Proposed Amendments). The Proposed Amendments concern reporting…
Much media attention has been paid to the recent approval by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to allow the trading and listing of certain of spot bitcoin exchange-traded products (ETPs). The SEC’s hand was forced by the decision of the U.S. Nineth…
The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) have published final amendments and changes to several national instruments and companion policies, implementing an access model for prospectuses of non-investment fund reporting issuers (the Access Model). The goal of the Access Model is to modernize the way prospectuses are…