Darren McKall

The Filer applied for exemptive relief from the restrictions in paragraphs 13.5(2)(b)(ii) and (iii) of National Instrument 31-103 to permit its managed funds, including those that are not investment funds, to engage in cross-trade transactions of private fixed income securities and mortgages.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the exemption, subject to conditions including that the transactions be consistent with the funds' investment objectives, approved by the independent review committee, and executed at fair value determined by an independent valuation firm.

The applicant, Arrow Capital Management Inc., applied for exemptive relief on behalf of several mutual funds in connection with a proposed merger of terminating corporate class funds into continuing mutual fund trusts.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted relief from the seed capital requirement, permitted the continuing funds to use the performance data and financial history of the terminating funds in their prospectuses and continuous disclosure documents, and allowed the consolidation of simplified prospectuses for alternative and conventional mutual funds.

The applicant, Onex Canada Asset Management Inc., applied for exemptive relief on behalf of existing and future alternative mutual funds from certain short selling and cash borrowing restrictions under National Instrument 81-102.

The requested relief would permit the funds to sell securities short and borrow cash up to a combined aggregate total of 100% of their net asset value, and to exceed the single issuer short restriction when short selling index participation units.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested exemptions, subject to conditions ensuring the funds' aggregate exposure to short selling, cash borrowing, and specified derivatives does not exceed the 300% aggregate limit.

The Filer applied on behalf of a proposed exchange-traded fund (ETF) for exemptive relief from the underwriter's certificate requirement and the take-over bid requirements.

The principal regulator granted the requested exemptions, noting that authorized dealers and designated brokers do not perform conventional underwriting services and that applying take-over bid requirements would adversely impact the ETF's liquidity.

The Filer applied for exemptive relief on behalf of certain mutual funds from the margin deposit restrictions in subsections 6.8(1) and 6.8(2)(c) of National Instrument 81-102.

The relief sought to permit the funds to deposit up to 35% of their net asset value as margin with a single dealer, and up to 70% in aggregate with all dealers, for transactions involving Exchange Traded Specified Derivatives.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested relief, subject to conditions limiting the funds to Exchange Traded Specified Derivatives and capping the margin deposits at the requested percentages.

BMO Investments Inc. applied for exemptive relief on behalf of its investment funds to permit them to invest in foreign underlying funds (UCITS and SICAV Funds) that are not subject to NI 81-102 and are not reporting issuers in Canada.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the exemption, finding that the foreign funds are subject to substantially similar regulatory oversight and investment restrictions as Canadian mutual funds, provided that the investments comply with specified conditions including a 10% net asset limit.

AGF Investments Inc. applied for exemptive relief on behalf of alternative mutual funds to permit them to short sell government securities up to 300% of their net asset value, exceeding the 50% limit in National Instrument 81-102.

The principal regulator granted the exemption, subject to conditions including that the aggregate exposure to short selling, cash borrowing, and specified derivatives does not exceed 300% of the funds' net asset value.

The Filer applied on behalf of the Fund for an exemption from paragraph 2.2(d) of National Instrument 44-101 to permit the Fund to file a short form or shelf prospectus despite not having current annual financial statements or a current AIF.

The Fund had recently completed its initial public offering and had not yet completed its first financial year.

The principal regulator granted the exemption, subject to conditions requiring the filing of initial financial statements and a management report of fund performance prior to filing a preliminary prospectus.

The Filer applied for exemptive relief from the requirements in paragraphs 15.3(4)(c) and 15.3(4)(f) of National Instrument 81-102.

The relief was sought to permit the Filer's mutual funds to reference FundGrade A+ Awards, FundGrade Ratings, Lipper Awards, and Lipper Leader Ratings in their sales communications.

The principal regulator granted the exemption, subject to specific disclosure conditions and time limits on the use of the awards.

The Filer, a registered investment fund manager and portfolio manager, applied for exemptive relief from the prohibitions in NI 31-103 to permit in specie transfers between managed accounts and pooled funds.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the exemption, subject to conditions including client consent, valuation requirements, and record-keeping obligations.

The Filer applied for exemptive relief on behalf of the Fund from the annual and interim financial statement filing and delivery deadlines under National Instrument 81-106.

The Fund invests primarily in underlying funds that are not reporting issuers and have financial reporting deadlines that do not align with the Fund's deadlines, making it impractical for the Fund to obtain audited financial statements from the underlying funds in time.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested relief, extending the annual filing and delivery deadline to 120 days and the interim deadline to 90 days, subject to certain conditions.

The applicant, YTM Capital Asset Management Ltd., applied for exemptive relief on behalf of its funds from the requirement in subsection 6.1(1) of National Instrument 81-102 that all portfolio assets be held by a single qualified custodian.

The relief sought to permit the funds to deposit portfolio assets with a borrowing agent in connection with short sales up to 25% of the fund's NAV, and to appoint more than one qualified custodian.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested relief, subject to conditions regarding reconciliation and operational systems.

The Filer applied to the Director of the Ontario Securities Commission for exemptive relief under section 19.1 of National Instrument 41-101.

The relief sought an exemption from subsection 2.3(1.1), which prohibits filing a prospectus more than 90 days after the receipt for the preliminary prospectus.

The Director granted the requested exemption, subject to the condition that the prospectus be filed no later than March 30, 2024.

The Filer applied for exemptive relief under the Securities Act to extend the lapse date of the current prospectus for two terminating scholarship plans.

The plans were scheduled to be wound up and their assets transferred to other plans by July 1, 2024.

The principal regulator granted the exemption, finding that it would avoid unnecessary costs and confusion, and that there were no undisclosed material changes in the plans' affairs.

The Filer applied for exemptive relief on behalf of certain top funds from the annual and interim financial statement filing and delivery deadlines under National Instrument 81-106.

The top funds invest in underlying funds with varying financial year-ends, causing delays in obtaining the necessary financial information to prepare their own statements.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested relief, extending the annual deadline to 183 days and the interim deadline to 90 days, subject to certain conditions.

The applicant, EHP Funds Inc., applied on behalf of EHP Global Multi-Strategy Alternative Fund for exemptive relief from the multi-tier fund prohibition in paragraph 2.5(2)(b) of National Instrument 81-102.

The relief was sought to permit the top fund to invest in underlying funds that in turn invest more than 10% of their net asset value in third-tier funds.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the exemption, subject to conditions including no duplication of fees, fair treatment in transaction costs, and compliance with continuous disclosure requirements.

The Filer, BMO Investments Inc., applied for exemptive relief from subsection 5.1(4) of National Instrument 81-101, which prohibits consolidating a simplified prospectus for an alternative mutual fund with one for a conventional mutual fund.

The Filer sought to combine the prospectuses to reduce costs and streamline disclosure, noting that exchange-traded funds are permitted to do so under National Instrument 41-101.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested exemption, allowing the Filer to consolidate the simplified prospectuses for its alternative and conventional mutual funds.

The filer applied for exemptive relief from subsection 5.1(4) of National Instrument 81-101 to permit the consolidation of the simplified prospectus of its alternative mutual funds with the simplified prospectus of its conventional mutual funds.

The principal regulator granted the requested relief, noting that the alternative and conventional funds share common operational and administrative features, and that consolidation would reduce costs and allow investors to more easily compare the funds.

The filer applied for exemptive relief on behalf of certain mutual funds from the annual and interim financial statement filing and delivery deadlines under National Instrument 81-106.

The funds invest primarily in private asset classes through underlying funds, which delays the completion of their own financial statements.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested relief, extending the annual deadline to 180 days and the interim deadline to 120 days, subject to conditions.

The Filer, an investment fund manager, applied to the Ontario Securities Commission for exemptive relief to extend the lapse date of the prospectus for two of its exchange-traded funds.

The extension was sought to align the lapse date with that of other funds managed by the Filer, thereby reducing renewal and printing costs and streamlining disclosure.

The Commission granted the requested relief, finding it would not be prejudicial to the public interest.