Kevin J. Kelly

Sprott Asset Management L.P. applied for exemptive relief from the self-dealing provisions of the Securities Act to permit it to purchase illiquid assets from Sprott Molybdenum Participation Corporation, a fund it manages.

The purchase was part of the liquidation and distribution of substantially all of the fund's assets to its investors.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the relief, subject to conditions including Independent Review Committee approval and obtaining independent pricing for the illiquid assets.

The Ontario Securities Commission held a hearing to consider whether to approve settlement agreements between Staff and five respondents.

The respondents admitted to acting as market intermediaries and trading in securities of Imagin Diagnostic Centres Inc. without being registered, contrary to section 25(1) of the Securities Act.

The Commission approved the settlement agreements, imposing various prohibitions on the respondents acting as directors, officers, or registrants, and ordering one respondent to pay a $15,000 administrative penalty.

Staff of the Ontario Securities Commission brought a proceeding against the respondent for engaging in trading practices that contributed to a misleading price for shares of a publicly traded company.

The respondent, while employed at a registered firm but not registered himself, executed late-day trades with limit orders that resulted in upticks, creating a misleading appearance of market activity.

The parties reached a Settlement Agreement wherein the respondent admitted to conduct contrary to the public interest.

The Commission approved the Settlement Agreement, finding the agreed sanctions—including a four-month suspension of registration, a four-month cease trade order, two years of supervision, completion of a conduct course, and $7,000 in costs—to be within acceptable parameters and in the public interest.

The Ontario Securities Commission held a hearing to determine whether Rex Diamond Mining Corporation and its officers breached the Securities Act by failing to disclose material changes regarding the cancellation of its mining leases in Sierra Leone.

The Commission found that Rex failed to issue news releases and file material change reports when it received warning letters and notices that its leases were cancelled.

The Commission also found that Rex provided misleading disclosure in its public filings and provided an incomplete chronology to Market Regulation Services Inc. The CEO and CFO were found to have authorized, permitted, or acquiesced in these breaches, acting contrary to the public interest.

The respondents brought a motion for an order requiring Staff of the Ontario Securities Commission to make meaningful disclosure of documents relevant to the specific allegations against them.

Staff had provided a database containing over 4.3 million pages of documents obtained during a four-year investigation, without separating relevant from irrelevant material.

The Commission held that Staff had not satisfied its legal obligation to make meaningful disclosure simply by delivering the massive database.

Staff was ordered to apply reasonable judgment to identify and disclose the documents relevant to the specific allegations against each respondent, rather than foisting the obligation to sift through the material onto the respondents.

The filer, Local Matters, Inc., applied for exemptive relief from the prospectus and registration requirements under the Securities Act to permit the posting of electronic roadshow materials on a commercial website during the waiting period of a cross-border initial public offering.

Compliance with U.S. securities laws required unrestricted access to these materials, which conflicted with Canadian requirements.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the relief, subject to the condition that purchasers in Canada are provided a contractual right of action for any misrepresentations in the materials.

The Filer applied for exemptive relief under section 147 of the Securities Act to extend the lapse date for the distribution of securities of two mutual funds under their simplified prospectuses.

The extension was requested to permit continued distribution until the funds were merged into other mutual funds managed by the Filer, avoiding the cost of filing a renewal prospectus for funds that would soon be terminated.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested relief.

The applicant sought exemptive relief on behalf of several mutual funds from the conflict of interest investment restrictions and reporting requirements under the Securities Act.

The relief was required to permit the funds to invest in underlying commodity pools where the funds might become substantial security holders, or where related parties might hold significant interests or share common officers and directors.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested exemption, provided the investments comply with section 2.5 of National Instrument 81-102 as modified by a prior decision.