On December 7, 2018, the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA), the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC), and the Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada (MFDA) (the regulators) jointly released CSA Staff Notice 31-351, IIROC Notice 17-0229, MFDA Bulletin #0736-M Complying with requirements regarding the…

In January 2017, the Canadian Securities Administrators (the “CSA”) published CSA Multilateral Staff Notice 51-347: Disclosure of Cyber Security Risks and Incidents (the “Staff Notice”), the findings of a review of the disclosure provided by the constituents of the S&P/TSX Composite Index regarding cyber security…

On October 5, 2017, the participating jurisdictions of the securities regulatory authorities of all provinces with the exceptions of British Columbia and PEI (the “Participating Jurisdictions”) published a review (the Staff Notice) of disclosure regarding women on boards and in executive officer positions. The Staff…

On November 17, 2017, the Ontario Government released its 2017 Ontario Economic and Fiscal Review (the Review). The Review contains advance notice of two important forthcoming changes for the securities industry in Ontario. First, it confirmed that the province is moving forward with regulatory changes…

Pressure is continuing to grow on Canadian companies to disclose the risks associated with climate change. In late October, 2017, thirty Canadian and international financial institutions and pension funds representing approximately CAD $1.2 trillion in assets under management, issued a joint Declaration of Institutional Investors…

On October 26, 2017, the Canadian Securities Administrators (“CSA”) published CSA Consultation Paper 52-404, Approach to Director and Audit Committee Member Independence (“Consultation Paper”). The purpose of the Consultation Paper is to encourage a discussion regarding the CSA’s approach to determining director and audit committee…

On October 19, 2017, the Canadian Securities Administrators (“CSA”) published CSA Staff Notice 33-321 Cyber Security and Social Media, 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 the…

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…