Incorporating ESG practices and principles in loan transactionsOver the past number of years, there has been a growing emphasis on and push to incorporate Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”) principles in lending practices. Conducting business in a sustainable, socially-conscious way may allow lenders to improve their financial... |
ESG at stake – Miller Thomson’s PDAC seminarMining companies have an opportunity to play a leading role on developing approaches to respond to the complex challenges of climate change, the loss of nature capital and other sustainability variables. Read our top 10 considerations for mining companies and... |
Carbon finance series: Canada’s voluntary carbon market (VCM)We are back with the next installment in our carbon finance series. In our last article, we discussed the key carbon pricing regimes across Canadian provinces. This article will provide an overview of some salient aspects of the voluntary carbon... |
Anti-money laundering concerns for money service businesses (MSBs)In our previous article in our series on money service businesses (“MSBs”), we identified the requirements to register as a federal money service business for certain businesses. In this piece, we discuss the compliance reporting obligations for MSBs. Individuals and... |
ESG and Carbon Finance Group Co-Chairs Jason Kroft and Bruno Caron speak to Canadian LawyerCanadian Lawyer Canadian Lawyer interviews Jason Kroft and Bruno Caron on the launch of the firm’s ESG and Carbon Finance practice. 2023 will be a big year for developing standards, taxonomy, and objectives for ESG. […] The firm says its new group... |
Introducing MT Biosphere™: The Communiqué of Miller Thomson’s ESG and Carbon Finance GroupWe are pleased to announce the launch of our communiqué, MT Biosphere™, published by Miller Thomson’s ESG and Carbon Finance Group. The name of our communiqué reflects the three elements behind the ESG acronym: environment, social, and governance. Throughout the... |
Comments sought on short selling activities in CanadaOn December 8, 2022, the Canadian Securities Administrators (“CSA”) and the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (“IIROC”) published Staff Notice 23-329 – Short Selling in Canada (the “Notice”). The purpose of the Notice is to provide an overview of... |
Trigger rates in Canada: What does this mean for Canadian mortgagors and mortgage-backed securities?Since March 2022, the Bank of Canada has been periodically increasing the country’s key interest rate. Seven interest rate hikes later the overnight rate is now at a staggering 4.25%, a dramatic increase from the beginning of the year. For... |
Provincial carbon regimes: Mixed bag to fight climate changeThe Lawyers Daily Jason Kroft and Ghazal Hamedani co-author an article in The Lawyer’s Daily that provides a high-level summary of key provincial carbon regimes. The goal of this article and the previous article on the federal carbon laws is to establish as... |
Regulating money service businesses in Canada: The not so well known money service business regimeThe Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act (the “PCMLTFA”) and its related regulations govern money service businesses (“MSBs”) in Canada. MSBs are regulated by the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre (“FINTRAC”). FINTRAC defines an MSB as... |
Ontario’s transition to Emissions Performance Standards (EPS) Program – December 15th pricing deadline fast approachingOntario’s Emissions Performance Standards (“EPS“) program began replacing the federal Output-Based Pricing System (“OBPS“) for greenhouse gas (“GHG“) emissions regulation on January 1, 2022. On October 22, 2021, Ontario amended two regulations under the Ontario Environmental Protection Act (“EPA“) in... |
True sale principles from Canadian case lawIn many structured finance transactions, the commercial intention among the parties is to effect a transaction resulting in a purchase and sale between a buyer (the party contributing funds) and a seller (the party contributing revenue streams from financial assets). Whether... |
Regulating the carbon market: Canada’s federal carbon pricing regimeThe Lawyer’s Daily Jason Kroft and Ghazal Hamedani co-author an article in The Lawyer’s Daily that discusses Canada’s federal carbon pricing regime. In our previous article “Sustainable finance and carbon market: An overview,” we introduced sustainable finance and provided an overview on carbon... |
Is carbon capture a game changer for Canada’s climate change strategy: A practical primer for businessIntroduction In 2020, Canada produced over half a billion tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from fossil fuels and industrial operations. The next year, the Canadian legislature passed the Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act, which legally enshrined Canada’s commitment to... |
2022 MasterCard rule changes applicable to subscription paymentsMasterCard has recently proposed changes to its credit card processing rules which, if implemented, will impact a broad range of “merchants” including non-profits and charitable organizations. Given that these changes appear to be a reaction to legislative changes in other... |
Trends from 2022 OSC Investment Fund SurveyOn September 9, 2022, the Ontario Securities Commission (“OSC”) published the results of its annual Investment Fund Survey (“IFS”). The IFS gathers input from over 400 investment fund managers (“IFMs”) registered in Ontario to collect data on approximately 5,700 prospectus-qualified... |
Straight Talk: Recent Trends in Canadian M&A (Issue 3, 2022)Our Q3 2022 issue features a sector spotlight on ESG and interview with Partners Jason Kroft and Myron Mallia-Dare of the firm’s ESG and Carbon Finance practice. |
The potential blockchain revolution in asset securitizationBlockchain technology is rapidly evolving and continues to transform many aspects of the financial services industry. One such area is securitization – where blockchain can significantly enhance transaction transparency while reducing operational inefficiencies and costs in the securitization process. This... |
Overview: OSFI’s draft guideline B-15 on climate risk managementOn May 26, 2022, following consultation with key industry stakeholders, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (“OSFI”) issued draft Guideline B-15: Climate Risk Management (the “Draft Guideline”).[1] The Draft Guideline represents OSFI’s response to the risks posed by... |
Recent developments surrounding Ontario’s proposed Clean Energy Credit (CEC) registryOn January 26, 2022, the Ontario government announced its intention to develop a voluntary Clean Energy Credit (“CEC”) registry and directed the Independent Electricity System Operator (“IESO”) to draft a report on the registry’s proposed design. Since then, the IESO... |
What exactly are carbon tokens?In this short piece, we will examine carbon tokens: a tool of increasing relevance in the battle to address climate change. How are carbon instruments typically structured and traded? In the fight to address climate change, businesses and individuals have... |
Sustainable finance and carbon market: An overview on carbon financingIt is difficult currently to open the daily newspaper or scroll through social media channels without seeing the words emissions trading, carbon finance, cap and trade and the carbon markets referenced within those pages. In this short introductory piece, we... |
