Darren McKall

Knowledge First Financial Inc. applied for an exemption to extend the lapse date of the current prospectuses for the Heritage Plans and Impression Plan from August 4, 2018, to August 24, 2018.

The extension was sought to align the lapse date with the applicant's other scholarship plans following its acquisition of the plans' current investment fund manager, and to avoid the unnecessary cost of filing a final prospectus that would soon need amending to reflect the impending merger.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested exemption, noting that no undisclosed material changes had occurred and the extension would not prejudice the public interest.

BMO Investments Inc. applied for exemptive relief on behalf of its investment funds to permit them to invest in affiliated UCITS ETFs listed on the Irish Stock Exchange and traded on the London Stock Exchange.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the exemption from the investment restrictions in National Instrument 81-102, subject to certain conditions, including that the funds do not invest more than 10% of their net asset value in a single UCITS ETF and no more than 20% in aggregate.

The Filer applied on behalf of the ETF for exemptive relief from the concentration restriction in subsection 2.1(1) of National Instrument 81-102.

The ETF sought to invest more than 10% of its net assets in the securities of individual Canadian banks as part of a proprietary rules-based portfolio rebalancing strategy.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested relief, subject to conditions including that the investment strategy and associated concentration risks be disclosed in the ETF's prospectus.

RBC Global Asset Management Inc. applied for exemptive relief on behalf of its investment funds to permit them to invest in London iShares ETFs listed on the London Stock Exchange.

The exemption from paragraphs 2.5(2)(a), (a.1), (c) and (c.1) of National Instrument 81-102 was sought because the ETFs are not listed on a Canadian or US stock exchange and therefore do not qualify as index participation units.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the relief, subject to conditions including investment limits and disclosure requirements, finding that the London Stock Exchange provides substantially equivalent regulatory oversight and the investments would provide an efficient way for the funds to achieve diversification.

The Filer, Canadian World Fund Limited, applied to the Ontario Securities Commission for an order that it has ceased to be 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 granted the requested order.

The applicant 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 applicant provided evidence that its outstanding securities are beneficially owned by fewer than 51 securityholders worldwide and are not traded on any marketplace.

The principal regulator was satisfied that the statutory test was met and granted the requested order.

Fidelity Investments Canada ULC applied for exemptive relief on behalf of its mutual funds to permit investments in silver, silver certificates, silver derivatives, and commodity exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

The principal regulator granted the requested relief, revoking and replacing previous decisions, subject to conditions including a 10% limit on market value exposure to physical commodities and specific prospectus disclosure requirements.

The Filer, RP Investment Advisors LP, applied on behalf of the Fund for an exemption from paragraph 2.6.1(1)(c)(ii) of NI 81-102.

The exemption sought to permit the Fund to increase the limit on aggregate short sale exposure to any single issuer that is a 'government security' to 20% of the net asset value of the Fund.

The principal regulator granted the exemption, finding that short-selling government securities would reduce interest rate risk across the Fund's portfolio of fixed income securities.

The exemption was granted subject to conditions, including that the short sales comply with other requirements of NI 81-102 and that the Fund's simplified prospectus disclose the increased limit.

BMO Investments Inc. applied for exemptive relief on behalf of several mutual funds and exchange-traded funds.

The requested relief included exemptions from the borrowing requirement to fund distributions, the sales and redemptions requirements to treat ETF and mutual fund securities separately, and concentration and control restrictions for top funds investing in ETF securities.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested exemptions, subject to specific conditions ensuring compliance with investment objectives and risk management.

The Manager applied for exemptive relief to approve the merger of the Terminating Fund into the Continuing Fund under paragraph 5.5(1)(b) of NI 81-102.

Regulatory approval was required because the investment objectives of the funds were not substantially similar.

The principal regulator granted the requested relief, finding that the merger would be beneficial to securityholders by streamlining the product line-up, reducing administrative costs, and providing a lower management fee.

The applicant, an investment fund manager, applied for exemptive relief on behalf of a mutual fund from the concentration restriction in subsection 2.1(1) of National Instrument 81-102.

The requested exemption would permit the fund to invest up to 20% or 35% of its net asset value in evidences of indebtedness issued or guaranteed by certain foreign governments or supranational agencies, depending on their credit rating.

The principal regulator granted the exemption, subject to conditions including that the securities are traded on a mature and liquid market, the purchases are consistent with the fund's investment objectives, and the simplified prospectus discloses the associated risks and the nature of the exemption.

BMO Investments Inc. applied for exemptive relief on behalf of certain mutual funds offering exchange-traded series.

The applicant sought relief from the requirement to prepare a long-form prospectus, the requirement to include an underwriter's certificate, and the take-over bid requirements for purchasers in the normal course on a marketplace.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested exemptions, subject to conditions including the filing of a simplified prospectus and annual information form, and the provision of ETF Facts documents to dealers.

The Filer, 1832 Asset Management L.P., applied on behalf of several proposed exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for exemptive relief from the underwriter's certificate requirement and the take-over bid requirements.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested relief, subject to conditions including the delivery of ETF Facts documents to purchasers.

The Commission found that the exemptions were appropriate given the structure and operation of the ETFs, and that applying the take-over bid requirements could adversely impact the liquidity of the ETF securities.

The applicants applied to the Ontario Securities Commission for approval of the proposed mergers of several terminating mutual funds into continuing funds, and for approval of a change of custodian for the Excel Mutual Funds.

The Commission found that the mergers and change of custodian met the requirements for approval under National Instrument 81-102.

The application for exemptive relief was granted.

The Filer applied for exemptive relief on behalf of the Fund from various provisions of NI 81-102 and NI 81-101 to permit the Fund to operate as an alternative fund.

The requested relief included exemptions from single issuer limits, commodity investment restrictions, specified derivatives rules, cash borrowing limits, and short selling restrictions.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested relief, subject to conditions regarding disclosure, leverage limits, and distribution through IIROC-registered dealers, until the coming into force of the Proposed Alternative Fund Rules or five years from the decision date.

The Filer applied to the Ontario Securities Commission for exemptive relief from certain provisions of National Instrument 81-102 to permit its mutual funds to enter into cleared swap transactions.

The relief sought exemptions from requirements relating to designated ratings, mark-to-market exposure limits, and single custodian rules, allowing the funds to deposit margin with Futures Commission Merchants and Clearing Corporations.

The Commission granted the requested relief, subject to conditions regarding the regulatory status and financial capitalization of the Futures Commission Merchants holding the margin.

The Filer, Purpose Investments Inc., applied for exemptive relief to extend the lapse dates of the simplified prospectuses for several of its investment funds.

The extension was requested to align the renewal dates of the Funds with those of newly acquired funds, allowing them to be combined into a single simplified prospectus.

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

The filer, Manulife Asset Management Limited, applied for exemptive relief under National Instrument 81-102 to approve the mergers of several terminating mutual funds into continuing funds.

The approval was required because the fundamental investment objectives of certain terminating and continuing funds were not substantially similar, and the mergers would not be effected as qualifying exchanges or tax-deferred transactions under the Income Tax Act.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested relief, noting that securityholders were provided with adequate disclosure and the independent review committee concluded the mergers achieved a fair and reasonable result.

The Manager applied for approval to merge two terminating mutual funds into two continuing mutual funds under paragraph 5.5(1)(b) of National Instrument 81-102.

Regulatory approval was required because the investment objectives of the continuing funds were not substantially similar to those of the terminating funds, meaning the mergers did not satisfy all criteria for pre-approved reorganizations under section 5.6.

The principal regulator granted the requested approval, finding that the mergers would be beneficial to securityholders by eliminating duplicative costs and providing lower or equal management fees.

The applicant, an investment fund manager, applied for exemptive relief on behalf of proposed exchange-traded funds (ETFs) from the underwriter's certificate requirement and the take-over bid requirements.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the relief, exempting the ETFs from including an underwriter's certificate in their prospectus, subject to conditions regarding the delivery of ETF Facts documents.

The Commission also exempted purchasers of the ETFs' listed securities in the normal course on a marketplace from the take-over bid requirements.