Canadian Securities Regulators propose using SEDAR for certain exempt market filings

CSA

Calgary - The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA), except Ontario and British Columbia, today published for comment proposed amendments to National Instrument 13-101 System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR) and Multilateral Instrument 13-102 System Fees for SEDAR and NRD (the proposed amendments). The 60-day comment period ends on August 31, 2015.

The proposed amendment would require certain exempt market filings, which are currently filed in paper format, to be filed in electronic format on SEDAR. These filings include the report of exempt distribution and the offering memorandum. The proposed amendments would also require issuers to pay a system fee of $25 per filing of a report of exempt distribution.

Electronic filing on SEDAR will benefit issuers by:

  • enabling issuers to make filings in multiple jurisdictions through one electronic submission;
  • allowing both reporting issuers and non-reporting issuers to have their filings with the participating jurisdictions in one electronic location under a SEDAR profile; and
  • allowing issuers to verify the accuracy and completeness of their filing record without having to make an information request to the applicable jurisdiction.

"The goal of these amendments is to improve the efficiency of the current system. Enabling electronic filings will benefit issuers who submit thousands of exempt market filings in paper format each year. It will also increase regulators' ability to analyze those documents while reducing the administrative burden," said Louis Morisset, CSA Chair and President and CEO of the Autorité des marchés financiers.

Ontario and British Columbia are not participating in the proposed amendments as they have local systems in place to receive these filings electronically.

The proposed amendments to National Instrument 13-101 System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR) and Multilateral Instrument 13-102 System Fees for SEDAR and NRD can be found on the participating CSA members' websites.

The CSA, the council of the securities regulators of Canada's provinces and territories, co-ordinates 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 Gilhooley

604-899-6713

Financial and Consumer Affairs, Authority of Saskatchewan

Shannon McMillan

306-798-4160

Financial and Consumer Services Commission, New Brunswick

Andrew Nicholson

506-658-3021

Financial Services Regulation Div., Newfoundland and Labrador

Don Boyles

709-729-4501

Manitoba Securities Commission

Kevan Hannah

204-945-1513

Northwest Territories Securities Office

Gary MacDougall

867-920-3318

Nova Scotia Securities Commission

Tanya Wiltshire

902-424-8586

Nunavut Securities Office

Shamus Armstrong

867-975-6587

Office of the Superintendent of Securities, P.E.I.

Janice Callbeck

902-368-6288

Office of the Yukon Superintendent of Securities

Rhonda Horte

867-667-5466

Ontario Securities Commission

Carolyn Shaw-Rimmington

416-593-2361