Darren McKall

Fidelity Investments Canada ULC applied for exemptive relief on behalf of its proposed and future exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to permit the ETFs to accept digital assets (bitcoin and ether) as subscription proceeds for creation units, and to purchase and sell crypto contracts from and to its affiliate, Fidelity Clearing Canada ULC.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested relief, subject to conditions including that digital assets be acquired on regulated exchanges and delivered directly to the ETF's custodian, and that transactions in crypto contracts be approved by the independent review committee.

The Filer applied to the Ontario Securities Commission for approval to merge the Horizons Morningstar Hedge Fund Index ETF into the Horizons ReSolve Adaptive Asset Allocation ETF.

The merger required regulatory approval because the funds did not have substantially similar fundamental investment objectives or fee structures, and the merger would not be a qualifying exchange under the Income Tax Act.

The Commission granted the requested exemptive relief, permitting the merger subject to the Filer obtaining prior approval from the shareholders of the terminating fund.

The Filer applied on behalf of Bitcoin Split Trust for exemptive relief from sections 6.8(1) and 6.8(2)(c) of National Instrument 81-102.

The relief sought to permit the Fund to deposit portfolio assets as margin up to 35% of its net asset value with any one futures commission merchant, and up to 70% in aggregate, for transactions in standardized bitcoin futures.

The principal regulator granted the requested relief, subject to conditions regarding maximum margin limits and the segregation of deposited assets.

The applicant, CI Investments Inc., sought exemptive relief to extend the lapse dates of the prospectuses for several of its investment funds.

The extension was requested to align the prospectus renewals with the availability of the funds' audited annual financial statements, thereby avoiding the unnecessary costs and administrative burden of reviewing interim unaudited financial statements.

The Ontario Securities Commission found that the extension would not be prejudicial to the public interest and granted the requested relief.

The Filers applied to the Ontario Securities Commission for approval of a change of manager for the Dynamic ETFs from BlackRock Canada to 1832 L.P. under subsection 5.5(1)(a) of National Instrument 81-102.

The Principal Regulator granted the requested relief, provided that BlackRock Canada obtains the requisite prior approval of the unitholders of the Dynamic ETFs.

The Filers applied for exemptive relief from certain custody requirements under National Instrument 81-102 Investment Funds.

The relief sought to permit Fidelity Clearing Canada ULC to act as custodian for the Funds' crypto assets and related cash, and to permit Fidelity Digital Asset Services, LLC to act as sub-custodian for the crypto assets, despite neither entity meeting the standard qualifications under NI 81-102.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested relief, subject to several conditions including insurance, SOC 2 reporting, and ongoing oversight requirements.

The applicant, Ninepoint Partners LP, applied for exemptive relief on behalf of several continuing funds following a proposed merger with terminating funds.

The relief sought included exemptions from seed capital requirements, and permission to use the past performance, financial data, and start dates of the terminating funds in the continuing funds' simplified prospectuses, fund facts, ETF facts, and continuous disclosure documents.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested relief, subject to certain disclosure conditions, finding that it would be beneficial to investors and avoid unnecessary confusion.

The applicant, Franklin Templeton Investments Corp., applied to the Ontario Securities Commission for exemptive relief to extend the lapse date of the simplified prospectus, annual information form, and fund facts for the Franklin Innovation Fund.

The extension was sought to align the renewal timeframe with 44 other mutual funds managed by the applicant, thereby reducing costs and streamlining operations.

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

The Filer applied to the Ontario Securities Commission for exemptive relief to extend the lapse dates of the current prospectuses for several exchange-traded funds to May 16, 2022.

The extension was sought to consolidate the prospectus documents and establish a uniform filing timeline across the Filer's fund platform, reducing renewal and printing costs.

The Commission granted the requested relief, finding it would not be prejudicial to the public interest as there were no material changes to the funds.

The Filer applied for exemptive relief to extend the lapse date for the renewal of the simplified prospectus, fund facts, and annual information form for several mutual funds.

The extension was requested to allow the Filer to implement changes to its pricing program and consolidate the renewal prospectuses of the funds, reducing costs and administrative burden.

The principal regulator granted the requested relief, extending the lapse date to November 30, 2021.

The Filer applied for exemptive relief on behalf of its mutual funds from the requirement in section 2.1 of National Instrument 81-101 to prepare a fund facts document strictly in the form of Form 81-101F3.

The Filer sought to include a Fee Decrease Table and a summary of its Revised Program, which offers tiered distributions or rebates resulting in progressively lower combined management and administration fees.

The principal regulator granted the requested relief, permitting the funds to deviate from the form requirements to include the specified disclosure.

The Filer applied for exemptive relief to extend the lapse date of the simplified prospectus, annual information form, and fund facts for two mutual funds.

The extension was sought to align the lapse date with that of other mutual funds managed by the Filer, allowing them to be combined into a single prospectus to reduce costs and streamline disclosure.

The principal regulator granted the requested relief, finding that it would not be prejudicial to the public interest and that the current prospectus remained accurate.

BMO Investments Inc. applied to the Ontario Securities Commission for approval to merge the BMO Global Growth & Income Fund into the BMO Global Equity Fund.

The merger required regulatory approval because the funds' investment objectives and fee structures were not substantially similar, failing the pre-approval criteria under NI 81-102.

The Commission granted the requested exemptive relief, subject to the condition that the manager obtain prior approval from the unitholders of the terminating fund at a special meeting.

The Filer applied for exemptive relief from paragraphs 2.5(2)(a)(i) and (c) of National Instrument 81-102 to permit its investment funds to invest up to 10 percent of their net asset value in securities of certain foreign investment funds (UCITS and SICAVs).

The principal regulator granted the exemption, finding that the foreign funds are subject to substantially similar regulatory requirements and that the investment would provide an efficient way for the funds to achieve diversification.

The applicant, Guardian Capital LP, applied for exemptive relief on behalf of several mutual funds.

The applicant sought an extension of the lapse dates for the simplified prospectuses of the funds to align with other funds managed by the applicant.

The applicant also sought relief from the requirement in National Instrument 81-101 prohibiting the consolidation of a simplified prospectus for an alternative mutual fund with that of a conventional mutual fund.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested exemptions, allowing the applicant to consolidate the prospectuses and align their renewal dates to reduce costs and streamline disclosure.

The applicant, Mackenzie Financial Corporation, applied for exemptive relief on behalf of several alternative mutual funds.

The applicant sought an extension of the lapse date for the renewal of the funds' simplified prospectus, fund facts, and annual information form.

The applicant also sought relief from the requirement in National Instrument 81-101 that prohibits consolidating a simplified prospectus for an alternative mutual fund with that of a conventional mutual fund.

The principal regulator granted the requested relief, allowing the applicant to consolidate the prospectuses and extending the lapse date to align with the applicant's other mutual funds.

The applicant applied on behalf of two exchange-traded funds for exemptive relief from the concentration restrictions in National Instrument 81-102.

The relief was sought to permit the funds to replicate the performance of a rules-based, variable-weight Canadian bank index, which would require investing more than 10% or 20% of their net asset value in securities of a single issuer.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested relief, subject to conditions including prospectus disclosure of the concentration risk and the exemption.

Purpose Investments Inc., the investment fund manager for the Purpose Bitcoin Fund and the Purpose Ether Fund, applied for exemptive relief under section 6.1 of National Instrument 81-101.

The applicant sought relief from subsection 2.1(2), which prohibits filing a prospectus more than 90 days after the receipt of a preliminary prospectus.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested exemption, subject to the condition that the prospectus be filed no later than October 31, 2021.

The applicant applied for exemptive relief to approve the merger of a terminating mutual fund into a continuing mutual fund.

Regulatory approval was required because the fundamental investment objectives of the continuing fund were not substantially similar to those of the terminating fund.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the approval sought, provided that the applicant obtains prior approval from the securityholders of the terminating fund.

The Filer applied for exemptive relief to extend the lapse date of the prospectus for the Dynamic Energy Evolution Fund from October 15, 2021, to November 16, 2021.

The extension was requested to align the Fund's prospectus renewal with 120 other mutual funds managed by the Filer, thereby reducing renewal, printing, and related costs, and streamlining disclosure.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested relief, noting no material changes in the Fund's affairs and that the extension would not be prejudicial to the public interest.