With the publication of CSA Staff Notice 51-358, Reporting of Climate Change-Related Risks (the Staff Notice), the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) continue to set forth their expectations regarding the disclosure by issuers of material risks posed by climate change. While the Staff Notice does not…
An Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) panel has approved a settlement with CoinLaunch Corp. (CoinLaunch) which had formerly operated in the crypto-asset space, penalizing it for engaging in the business of trading in securities without a registration. CoinLaunch, which ultimately chose to cease operations rather than…
Ontario’s newest financial services regulatory body, the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA), has announced its priorities for the sectors it watches over, intending to provide sector-specific burden reductions while maintaining regulatory effectiveness. Currently, the regulator is in consultations with sectoral stakeholders and reviewing…
Effective June 1, 2020, Canadian cryptocurrency exchanges and foreign cryptocurrency exchanges serving Canadians will be required by Canada’s Finance Department to register as Money Service Bureaus (MSBs) with FINTRAC (Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada) to comply with recent amendments to the Proceeds…
The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) has lifted some of the regulatory burden for investment fund managers of pooled funds. Fund managers of pooled funds now no longer need to apply for approval to act as trustees. As registrants, the OSC deems that fund managers are…
In April 2018, the Canadian Securities Administrators issued (CSA) CSA Staff Notice 61-303, Soliciting Dealer Requirements and Request for Comment (the CSA Staff Notice and Request for Comment) for stakeholder consultation. After the comment period ended and after reviewing the feedback, the CSA and IIROC…
The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) have published the Fiscal Year 2018/2019 Enforcement Report (the Report) which details the enforcement actions the regulator took during the past year. As well, the Report highlighted cooperation between different jurisdictions and the investments in new technology that have enabled…
The government of Ontario has announced that a new independent agency, the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA), will replace both the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO) and the Deposit Insurance Corporation of Ontario (DICO), effective June 8, 2019. The new agency will…
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) today commenced an enforcement action against Waterloo, Ontario-based Kik Interactive Inc. (Kik) for what it alleges is an illegal USD $100 million ICO Initial Coin Offering (ICO). The SEC alleges that Kik sold the tokens to U.S….
A Simple Agreement for Future Equity (SAFE) is a financing contract used by start-ups and investors where operating capital is exchanged for the right to acquire equity at a future time or event, such as the closing of an equity financing round, an M&A transaction…