A real and substantial connection? Saskatchewan Court of Appeal affirms the jurisdictional question for securities regulators
The law has long recognized the geographic limits of governments’ legislative powers. For example, Canada is unable to pass laws which apply in the United States. In Canada, a similar recognition applies amongst Canadian provinces: Saskatchewan does not have the...
Telegram goes head-to-head with the SEC in another crypto tug-of-war
After flexing its enforcement muscle in going after Kik (you can read our feature on Kik here), the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) is continuing its show of force in the crypto space. On October 11, 2019, the SEC filed...
Bruno Caron quoted in article on diversity disclosure obligations in Canada
Activistmonitor, "Diversity disclosure obligations for Canadian firms to expand in 2020"
The Canadian Business Corporation Act (CBCA) starting 1 January 2020 will expand diversity disclosure obligations for Canadian corporations to include data on Aboriginal people, persons with disabilities and visible minorities, in addition to requiring such disclosures from venture issuers for...
OSC Orders Approval of Prospectus for Canada’s First Bitcoin Investment Fund
Overview In a ground-breaking decision, the Ontario Securities Commission (“OSC”) overturned the decision of the Acting Director of the Investment Funds & Structured Products Branch of the OSC (“IFSP”) to refuse to issue a receipt for the establishment of the...
Venture Issuers Disclosure Revolution or Evolution
The Canada Business Corporations Act (CBCA) has undergone in June of this year changes clarifying the scope of the duty of directors and senior officers to act in the best interest of the corporation. Some other changes to the CBCA...
CSA Releases Results of New Findings and Trends on Women on Boards and in Executive Officer Positions
On October 2, 2019, the securities regulatory authorities in Alberta, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Québec and Saskatchewan released their fifth annual review of women serving on boards and in executive officer positions. Their findings were published in the...
David versus Goliath 2.0: Canadian Company Takes a Kick at the Sec in the Fight for Crypto Guidance
With the 2019 rebound in the price of Bitcoin and the hearings surrounding Facebook’s Libra cryptocurrency project, there’s a lot of renewed buzz around digital assets. This level of enthusiasm also means that regulators are circling the waters, looking for...
Are You Ready for Environmentally Responsible Disclosure?
On August 1, 2019, staff of the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) issued a public notice on the principles and rules governing the disclosure of information concerning climate change-related risks (CSA Staff Notice 51-358 – Reporting of Climate Change-related Risks) (Notice...
OSC Initiates a Pre-Filing Review of a Mining Company’s Technical Disclosure in Short Form Prospectus Offerings
OSC takes action to reduce burden for mining issuers On June 6, 2019, the Ontario Securities Commission (“OSC”) announced the adoption of an important pre-filing review process for mining issuers (see Staff Notice 43-706 Pre-filing Review of Mining Technical Disclosure)....
An Integrated and National Approach to Securities Regulation
Canada’s pursuit of an integrated and national approach to securities regulation recently received a significant boost. On November 9, 2018, the Supreme Court of Canada released its decision in the Reference re Pan-Canadian Securities Regulation. The Supreme Court of Canada...