Canadian Securities Regulators adopt amendments to improve issuer communications with investors

CSA

Toronto - The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) announced today the adoption of amendments to National Instrument 54-101 Communication with Beneficial Owners of Securities of a Reporting Issuer and National Instrument 51-102 Continuous Disclosure Obligations, which intend to improve communications between reporting issuers and their shareholders in the proxy voting process.

Specifically, the amendments are designed to improve procedures for reporting issuer communications with investors who hold securities through intermediaries such as dealers, trust companies and banks.

The most significant features of the adopted amendments include:

  • Providing reporting issuers with a new notice-and-access mechanism to send proxy-related materials to registered holders and beneficial owners of securities;
  • Requiring reporting issuers to provide enhanced disclosure regarding the beneficial owner voting process; and,
  • Simplifying the process by which beneficial owners are appointed as proxy holders in order to attend and vote at shareholder meetings.

"These amendments will modernize and enhance communication between reporting issuers and their shareholders by allowing greater use of the Internet for delivering proxy-related materials," said Bill Rice, Chair of the CSA and chairman and chief executive of the Alberta Securities Commission. "The amendments aim to increase the efficiencies of the proxy voting process by reducing the volume of documents sent to shareholders."

The amendments and related materials can be found on CSA members' websites. In some jurisdictions, ministerial approvals are required to implement the amendments. If all such approvals are obtained, the amendments will take effect on February 11, 2013. However, reporting issuers will only be permitted to use notice-and-access for meetings taking place on or after March 1, 2013.

The CSA, the council of the securities regulators of Canada's provinces and territories, coordinates and harmonizes regulation for the Canadian capital markets.

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For more information:

CSA member name

Point of contact

Phone number

Autorité des marchés financiers

Sylvain Théberge

514-940-2176

Alberta Securities Commission

Mark Dickey

403-297-4481

British Columbia Securities Commission

Richard Gilhooney

604-899-6577

Financial Services Regulation Div. Newfoundland and Labrador

Doug Connolly

709-729-2594

Manitoba Securities Commission

Ainsley Cunningham

204-945-4733

New Brunswick Securities Commission

Wendy Connors-Beckett

506-643-7745

Northwest Territories Securities Office

Donn MacDougall

867-920-8984

Nova Scotia Securities Commission

Tanya Wiltshire

902-424-8586

Nunavut Securities Office

Louis Arki

867-975-6587

Ontario Securities Commission

Carolyn Shaw-Rimmington

416-593-2361

PEI Securities Office, Office of the Attorney General

Janice Callbeck

902-368-6288

Saskatchewan Financial Services Commission

Dean Murrison

306-787-5879

Yukon Securities Registry

Rhonda Horte

867-667-5466