On April 16, 2020, the Canadian Securities Administrators (the CSA) published CSA Notice 31-357 which will allow more time for registered firms and individuals (registrants) to implement certain provisions of the Client Focused Reforms (CFRs). All members of the CSA have issued parallel orders extending the timeline for the implementation of amendments to National Instrument 31-103 Registration Requirements, Exemptions and Ongoing Registrant Obligations that would otherwise have come into effect in the first phase of the implementation of the CFRs on December 31, 2020.
The Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada and the Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada (together, the SROs), will harmonize their implementation timelines for conforming changes to their member rules, policies and guidance with the timeline adopted by the CSA.
The CSA published the CFRs, which are relevant to all registrants, on October 3, 2019. The CSA provided for a phased transition period, with the reforms relating to conflicts of interest and relationship disclosure information (RDI) provisions taking effect on December 31, 2020, and the remaining reforms taking effect on December 31, 2021. The CSA has postponed the effective date by which registrants will have to comply with the conflicts of interest CFRs by six months to June 30, 2021. The implementation of the RDI CFRs will be postponed until December 31, 2021, so that they will come into effect at the same time as the remaining reforms under the CFRs.
The CSA notes that when the conflicts of interest CFRs come into effect on June 30, 2021, registrants will be required to disclose material conflicts of interest to clients before opening an account or in a timely manner after they are identified. Registrants may provide these disclosures separately from any other disclosures using stand-alone documents in any form, be it electronic or paper, that meet the plain language requirements in the conflicts of interest CFRs. Other CFRs
All remaining CFRs will take effect on December 31, 2021, consistent with the notice published on October 3, 2019 and the amending instrument for the CFRs.
Relief Orders The orders will take effect on December 31, 2020.
For more details please see: https://www.bcsc.bc.ca/Securities_Law/Policies/Policy3/PDF/31-357__CSA_Notice___April_16__2020/
For more information, please call Barbara Hendrickson at BAX Securities Law (647) 403-4606. This publication is not intended to constitute legal advice. No one should act on it or refrain from acting on it without consulting with a lawyer. BAX does not warrant or guarantee the accuracy or currency or completeness of the publication. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the prior written permission of BAX Securities Law.
