The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) has provided temporary relief to market participants by waiving all late fees that accumulate between April 17, 2020 and June 1, 2020. This is estimated to result in over $300,000 of relief to issuers, registrants and insiders during the relief period.
Recently, blanket exemptive relief was granted by the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) to extend filing dates to a variety of market participants impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. For those that qualify for this relief, no late fee would accrue if the filing was made by the new extended date.
Some participants are not eligible or have chosen not to take advantage of the extended filing period. For this reason, the OSC is providing late fee relief by way of a local blanket order, in recognition that all market participants may face some challenges in making fee payments on time during this period. Entities subject to fees under Part 4 of OSC Rule 13-502 Fees are not included in the relief as they will not accumulate late fees during this relief period. Market participants must continue to pay fees in accordance with OSC Rule 13-502 Fees and OSC Rule 13-503 (Commodity Futures Act) Fees. This additional temporary relief will prevent the accumulation of late fees charged under these OSC rules.
The OSC blanket orders will come into effect on April 17, 2020 and expire on June 1, 2020. Any additional late fee relief needed for the pandemic period before April 17, 2020 will also be considered.
For more details please see: https://www.osc.gov.on.ca/en/NewsEvents_nr_20200417_osc-temporarily-waives-all-late-fees-for-market-participants.htm
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.
