Court Approval of Plan of Arrangement: The Magna Decision
In August 2010, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice approved a plan of arrangement (“Arrangement“) which allowed Magna International Inc. (“Magna“) to eliminate its dual class share structure. A plan of arrangement is a court supervised procedure that requires the...
CSA Staff Notice 51-333: Environmental Reporting Guidance
Introduction Increasing environmental awareness has significantly affected the manner in which businesses operate and plan for the future. With environmental regulation at the forefront of the public conscience, companies and investors have requested clarification of the continuous disclosure (“CD”) requirements...
New Regulation For Rating Agencies
The Canadian Securities Administrators (the “CSA”) have recently released for comment proposed National Instrument 25-101 Designated Rating Organizations (the “Proposed Rule”). The Proposed Rule is the first attempt to regulate credit rating organizations (“CROs”) in Canada. The CSA have, apparently,...
IIROC New Product Due Diligence Regulatory Review – Common Deficiencies and Requirements for Written Policies, Procedures and Controls
In our Fall 2009 issue, we discussed the Canadian Securities Administrators’ (“CSA”) Staff Notice 33-315 entitled Suitability Obligation and Know Your Product (the “Staff Notice”) in which the CSA gave guidance to registrants with respect to the “know your product” and...
United States Financial Reform Legislation – What Does it Mean for You?
It's Personal, Volume 3, Issue 6
New Directions in Canadian Rights Plans – But Which Way?
On July 27, 2010, the British Columbia Securities Commission (“BCSC”) issued its full majority reasons for its April 2010 decision to cease-trade the Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. shareholder rights plan (the “SRP”) adopted in response to a hostile bid made...
The National Securities Regulation Debate Intensifies
In earlier issues of this publication, we reported on the Federal Government’s initiative to establish a single national securities regulator for Canada. To summarise what has happened in the last six months, there has been little substantive progress on the issue...
Alberta Blanket Order Completes “North West” Exemptions From Universal Registration Requirements
On February 12, 2010, the Alberta Securities Commission published Blanket Order 31-505 Registration Exemption for Trades in Connection with Certain Prospectus-Exempt Distributions, 2010 ABASC 52 (the “Order”). The Order provides limited blanket relief from the requirement to register as an...
Frequently Asked Questions about the New Insider Trading Regime
Co-Author: Adria Leung (2009/10 Articling Student, Miller Thomson Toronto) The Canadian Securities Administrators recently released Staff Notice 55-315, about the Insider Reporting Requirements and Exemptions contained in National Instrument 55-104 (“NI 55-104”). The notice summarizes a number of important issues relating to...
Canadian Securities Administrators Publish New Guidance on Disclosure of Forward-Looking Information
As a result of continuous disclosure reviews in respect of compliance with forward-looking information (“FLI”) requirements found in National Instrument 51-102 – Continuous Disclosure Obligations (“NI 51-102”), the Canadian Securities Administrators (the “CSA”) published guidance on the subject in CSA...
