The Pacific Capital Markets Association published this article called, “How Bitcoin is revolutionizing the investment space” on November 20, 2017. The article provides an overview of Bitcoin’s history, investing in Bitcoin and its safety. This article contains general information only and is not intended to provide a legal opinion or advice. Please consult a…
The BC Securities Commission posted the below press release on its website on September 6, 2017. It announces the the first registration allowing the operation of a bitcoin investment fund. The British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC) announced the first registration of an investment fund manager in Canada solely dedicated to cryptocurrency investments. The BCSC has…
The Advocate Daily recently published this news release entitled, “Regulatory settlement not enough to determine liability in civil proceeding” by Kim Duong, a Toronto insurance lawyer. In this case, the plaintiffs tried to argue that a settlement, which one of the defendants entered into with the Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada, should be used…
In the decision of Finkelstein v. Ontario (Securities Commission), 2016 ONSC 7507, Mitchell Finkelstein (Finkelstein), Paul Azeff (Azeff), Korin Bobrow, Howard Miller (Miller), and Francis Cheng (Cheng, and together, the appellants) appealed the decision of the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) dated March 24, 2015 in which they were held to have breached certain provisions of…
The Calgary Herald recently published an article entitled, “Alberta Securities Commission and RCMP create new team to tackle white-collar crime” by Bill Graveland. This new unit called the “Joint Serious Offences Team” will investigate and prosecute cases under Alberta’s Securities Act or the Criminal Code. This unit’s goal will be to target repeat offenders of…
As of July 1, 2016, a new subsection came into force in the Securities Act (Ontario) (the Act) prohibiting a person in a “special relationship” with an issuer, with knowledge of material non-public information (MNPI), from recommending or encouraging a trade in that issuer’s securities. The new subsection 3.1 reads as follows: Recommendation (3.1) No…
On July 26, 2016, the Alberta Securities Commission (ASC) adopted ASC Rule 45-517 Prospectus Exemption for Start-Up Businesses. This Rule permits Alberta issuers to raise funds from Alberta investors through an online funding portal that is a registered dealer, a registered dealer, or the network of contacts of the issuer’s principals. The main conditions of…
The Financial Post recently published an article called, “Stock exchange cracks down after stream of ‘shell’ companies make it to market” by Barbara Shecter and Peter Koven. This is a follow-up article to their previous one published in February 2016 called, “Caught in a web of spinoffs: Inside Canada’s expanding universe of ‘shell’ companies”. Shell…
The following article was published in the Globe and Mail on January 18, 2016. It discusses the BC Securities Commission’s computer program that it introduced in 2014 to read regulatory filings. This program uses a computerized “predictive risk model” to find companies that sell securities to unqualified people in the exempt market. According to the…
Ontario is expected to adopt the offering memorandum (OM) exemption on January 13, 2016. Alberta, Saskatchewan, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia (together with Ontario, the Participating Jurisdictions) are amending their existing OM exemptions so that they are substantially harmonized with Ontario’s OM exemption. The other Participating Jurisdictions expect to adopt their amendments on April…