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1 Canadian Securities Administrators
Publish Proposals to Streamline Venture
Issuer Disclosure
By Robert Eberschlag and Tracey Kernahan
5 First Individual Sentenced Under
the Canadian Corruption of Foreign
Public Officials Law
By Stephen Nattrass
7 The Proactive Leader of the Prairie Province
By Joshua H. Shields
Canadian Securities Administrators
Publish Proposals to Streamline
Venture Issuer Disclosure
By Robert Eberschlag ( robert.eberschlag@nortonrosefulbright.com) and
Tracey Kernahan ( tracey.kernahan@nortonrosefulbright.com), Norton Rose Fulbright
On May 22, 2014, the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) published
for comment proposed amendments to
National Instrument 51-102
Continuous Disclosure Obligations (NI 51-102),
National Instrument 41-101 General
Prospectus Requirements and National
Instrument 52-110 Audit Committees
(the Proposals). The Proposals are
intended to streamline venture issuer
disclosure requirements and make
them more manageable for such issuers
and more reflective of investor needs.
Venture issuers are those issuers
whose securities are not listed on certain prescribed major stock exchanges.
Most TSX Venture Exchange (TSX-V)
and Canadian Stock Exchange listed
issuers are venture issuers.
Background
This initiative follows CSA attempts
in 2011 and 2012 (later withdrawn)
to introduce tailored venture issuer
regulation (the Prior Proposals) that
contemplated a separate continuous
disclosure and governance regime for
venture issuers. The Proposals retain
elements of the Prior Proposals but,
rather than creating a stand alone
regime for such issuers, amend specific
rules applicable to all reporting issuers.
Highlights
The Proposals’ key highlights are as
follows:
• Interim MD&A: Venture issuers
without significant revenue in their
most recently completed financial
year will be given the option to
prepare and file a streamlined and
focused quarterly report in lieu of in-