Use of privileged informationAdministrative penalty of $52,000 against Ghislain Fournier

Securities Decisions and Freeze and cease trade orders

Montréal – On October 11, 2016, the Tribunal administratif des marchés financiers (the “Tribunal”) approved the agreement entered into by the Autorité des marchés financiers (the “AMF”) and Ghislain Fournier.

Under the agreement, Ghislain Fournier admitted to conducting transactions involving the securities of Mines Aurizon Ltée (Aurizon), a reporting issuer in Québec, while holding privileged information about this issuer, where he was employed.

“After having disclosed his own actions and indicated that he wished to correct the situation, Ghislain Fournier co-operated with the AMF in its investigation into the matter,” said Jean-François Fortin, AMF Executive Director, Enforcement. “His conduct had an impact on assessing the remedy and the appropriate penalty.”

After having been advised by an Aurizon executive that production was dropping, Ghislain Fournier sold 31,209 of the company’s shares. A few weeks later, following the publication of a news release indicating a decline in production, Aurizon stock lost about 11% of its value in 10 days.

The Tribunal ordered Ghislain Fournier to pay an administrative penalty of $52,000, which represents 55% more than the loss he avoided by selling his shares before the price declined.

The Autorité des marchés financiers (the “AMF”) is the regulatory and oversight body for Québec’s financial sector.

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