Darren McKall

The Filer applied for exemptive relief from the prohibition in National Instrument 31-103 against a registered adviser knowingly causing an investment portfolio to purchase or sell a security from or to another investment portfolio managed by the same adviser.

The relief was sought to facilitate the merger of the Terminating Fund into the Continuing Fund.

The principal regulator granted the exemption, provided that the merger is approved at a special meeting of unitholders of the Terminating Fund.

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

The Fund invests in underlying third-party funds whose financial reporting deadlines do not align with the Fund's deadlines, making it impossible for the Fund's auditor to issue an unmodified opinion in time.

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

PIMCO Canada Corp. applied for exemptive relief to extend the lapse date of the simplified prospectus for two of its mutual funds.

The extension was sought to align the renewal date of these funds with other mutual funds managed by the applicant, thereby reducing renewal, printing, and related costs.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested exemption, finding that it would not be prejudicial to the public interest as there were no material changes in the affairs of the funds.

The Filer applied to the Ontario Securities Commission for approval of a change of control pursuant to section 5.5(1)(a.1) of National Instrument 81-102.

The change of control arose from a business combination between the Filer's indirect parent company and another global professional services firm.

The Commission granted the approval, noting that the transaction was not expected to result in any material changes to the business, operations, or affairs of the investment funds managed by the Filer.

The applicant applied for exemptive relief from subsection 9.4(2) of National Instrument 81-102 to permit its precious metals funds to accept a combination of cash and permitted precious metals (Baskets) as subscription proceeds for units.

The principal regulator granted the requested relief, provided that the acceptance of Baskets as payment is made in accordance with paragraph 9.4(2)(b).

The Filer, Franklin Templeton Investments Corp., applied for exemptive relief from the prohibitions in sections 13.5(2)(b)(ii) and (iii) of National Instrument 31-103.

The relief was sought to permit the Filer, on behalf of Franklin Global Real Assets Fund, to transfer certain portfolio securities currently held as direct holdings to Franklin Global Real Assets AIV SIF via an in specie transaction.

The principal regulator granted the exemption, subject to conditions regarding valuation, record-keeping, and the absence of compensation for the transfer.

The applicant applied to the Ontario Securities Commission for approval to merge a terminating fund into a continuing fund under paragraph 5.5(1)(b) of National Instrument 81-102.

The merger could not be pre-approved under section 5.6(1) because the continuing fund is an alternative mutual fund with a different investment objective and fee structure, and the merger would be completed on a taxable basis.

The Commission granted the requested approval, provided the applicant obtains prior approval from the terminating fund's securityholders.

The Filer applied for exemptive relief from the restriction in section 13.5(2)(a) of National Instrument 31-103 to permit a mutual fund it manages to invest in a related short-term private fixed income fund.

The relief was sought because obtaining written consent from all unitholders of the public mutual fund was impractical.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the relief, subject to conditions including independent valuation of the underlying fund, independent review committee approval, and specific prospectus disclosure.

The applicant applied to the Ontario Securities Commission for an exemption from the conflict of interest provisions in subparagraph 13.5(2)(b)(iii) of National Instrument 31-103.

The exemption was sought to permit the transfer of the investment portfolio of a terminating fund to a continuing fund in order to implement a merger.

The Commission granted the requested exemptive relief, finding that the merger was in the best interests of the unitholders and that potential conflicts of interest had been adequately addressed.

PIMCO Canada Corp. applied for exemptive relief from the inter-fund trading prohibitions in NI 81-102 and NI 31-103.

The relief sought to permit Canadian funds and client accounts to engage in inter-fund trades with other Canadian funds, as well as cross-border inter-fund trades with U.S. funds managed by PIMCO affiliates.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested relief, subject to conditions including independent review committee approval, compliance with U.S. inter-fund trading rules for U.S. funds, and execution at the last sale price for exchange-traded securities.

The applicant, FT Portfolios Canada Co., applied for exemptive relief on behalf of the First Trust Senior Loan ETF (CAD Hedged) from certain provisions of National Instrument 81-102.

The requested relief would permit the Fund to invest up to 100% of its net asset value in the First Trust Senior Loan Fund, a U.S. exchange-traded fund, despite the U.S. fund not being subject to NI 81-102 or a reporting issuer in Canada.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the exemption, finding that the investment objectives and strategies of both funds are substantially similar and that the relief would provide the Fund with beneficial diversification and liquidity.

BNS Split Corp.II applied to the Ontario Securities Commission for an order to cease being a reporting issuer in all jurisdictions of Canada where it is currently a reporting issuer.

The Filer represented that its outstanding securities are beneficially owned by fewer than 15 securityholders in each Canadian jurisdiction and fewer than 51 worldwide, and that its securities are not traded on any marketplace.

The principal regulator found that the test under the securities legislation was met and granted the order.

The applicant, Mackenzie Financial Corporation, applied on behalf of the Mackenzie Global Long/Short Equity Alpha Fund for an order that the fund cease to be a reporting issuer in all applicable Canadian jurisdictions.

The principal regulator found that the fund met the necessary criteria, including having fewer than 51 securityholders worldwide and no securities traded on a marketplace.

The application was granted.

The Filer applied for exemptive relief to extend the lapse date of the Next Edge Bio-Tech Plus Fund's simplified prospectus from October 25, 2020, to December 31, 2020.

The extension was requested because the Filer is considering merging the Fund into another mutual fund by the end of the year, making the filing of pro forma renewal documents unduly costly.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested exemption.

The applicant, on behalf of an investment fund, applied for exemptive relief from paragraph 2.2(d) of National Instrument 44-101 to permit the fund to file a shelf prospectus pursuant to National Instrument 44-102, even though the fund had not yet completed a financial year end.

The principal regulator granted the relief, subject to conditions including the filing of initial financial statements and a management report of fund performance.

The Filer applied for exemptive relief under paragraph 5.5(1)(b) of National Instrument 81-102 to permit the merger of several terminating mutual funds into continuing funds.

The proposed mergers did not meet all pre-approval criteria because the fundamental investment objectives were not substantially similar and the mergers would be completed on a taxable basis.

The principal regulator granted the requested relief, provided that prior securityholder approval is obtained for each terminating fund.

Covington Venture Fund Inc. applied to the Ontario Securities Commission for an order declaring that it has ceased to be a reporting issuer in all applicable Canadian jurisdictions.

The Commission granted the order, noting that the Filer's outstanding securities are beneficially owned by fewer than 15 securityholders in each Canadian jurisdiction and fewer than 51 securityholders worldwide, and that its securities are not traded on any marketplace.

The filer applied for exemptive relief on behalf of several mutual funds and alternative mutual funds.

The requested relief sought exemptions from the borrowing restriction in National Instrument 81-102 to allow the funds to borrow cash to fund distributions, and from the sales and redemptions requirements to permit the funds to treat exchange-traded fund securities and mutual fund securities as separate funds.

The principal regulator granted the requested exemptions, subject to specific conditions regarding borrowing limits, duration, and compliance with applicable provisions for each type of security.

The Filer applied for exemptive relief on behalf of the Fund from the concentration restriction in subsection 2.1(1.1) of National Instrument 81-102.

The relief was sought to permit the alternative mutual fund to replicate a 1.25 times multiple of the performance of a rules-based, variable-weight Canadian bank index.

The principal regulator granted the exemption, subject to conditions including that the investment is made in accordance with the Fund's investment objectives and strategies, and that the Fund's prospectus discloses the exemption and associated concentration risks.

The Filer applied for exemptive relief from the Securities Act and National Instruments 31-103 and 81-102 to permit its MBS Index Funds to invest in mortgage-backed securities issued by a related issuer (Bank of Montreal) in the primary market.

The relief was sought because BMO is a major issuer of MBS in Canada, and the funds require access to these securities to replicate the performance of their target index.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested relief, subject to conditions including independent review committee approval and pricing parity with arm's-length purchasers.