Lawrence Haber

The Ontario Securities Commission approved a settlement agreement between Staff and Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) regarding allegations of supervisory inadequacies in RBC's foreign exchange (FX) trading business from 2011 to 2013.

Staff alleged that RBC failed to promote a culture of compliance, allowing FX traders to inappropriately share confidential customer information with competitors in electronic chat rooms.

RBC acknowledged the conduct was contrary to the public interest, engaged in significant remediation efforts, and agreed to make a voluntary payment of $13,552,000 and pay $800,000 in costs.

The Commission found the settlement to be in the public interest.

The Ontario Securities Commission approved a settlement agreement between Staff and The Toronto-Dominion Bank regarding allegations of supervisory inadequacies in TD's foreign exchange trading business from 2011 to 2013.

Staff alleged that TD failed to promote a culture of compliance, allowing traders to inappropriately share confidential customer information with competitors.

TD acknowledged the conduct and agreed to a voluntary payment of $9,300,900 and $800,000 in costs.

The Commission found the settlement to be in the public interest, noting TD's significant remediation efforts and exemplary cooperation.

The Filers applied to the Ontario Securities Commission for exemptive relief from continuous disclosure, certification, and insider reporting requirements following a plan of arrangement where Emblem Corp. became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Aleafia Health Inc. The Commission granted the requested relief, subject to conditions including that Aleafia remains a reporting issuer, files required continuous disclosure documents, and concurrently sends disclosure materials to holders of Emblem's outstanding warrants, compensation options, and debentures.

The Filer applied to the Ontario Securities Commission for an exemption from the prospectus requirement for the distribution of contracts for difference (CFDs) and over-the-counter foreign exchange contracts to investors in Ontario and other applicable jurisdictions.

The Filer operates a proprietary online trading platform allowing clients to trade CFDs on an execution-only basis.

The Commission granted the requested relief, subject to conditions including that the Filer remain registered as an investment dealer, comply with IIROC rules, and provide clients with a comprehensive risk disclosure document prior to their first transaction.

Brian Sutton, former CFO of First Leaside Securities Inc., applied for a review of an IIROC panel decision finding he breached Dealer Member Rule 38.6(c) regarding the pricing of unlisted fund units.

IIROC Staff cross-applied for a review of the sanctions.

The Ontario Securities Commission found the IIROC panel made cumulative evidentiary errors, warranting a hearing de novo.

Conducting its own analysis, the Commission concluded Sutton's reliance on an illusory 'active market' to price units at $1.00 was unreasonable and breached his obligations.

The Commission set aside the IIROC sanctions and imposed a $50,000 fine, a three-year prohibition on approval as a CFO, a reprimand, and $50,000 in costs.

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, Brookfield Property Partners L.P., Brookfield Property Finance ULC, and Brookfield Property Preferred Equity Inc., applied to the Ontario Securities Commission for exemptive relief from various continuous disclosure, certification, insider reporting, audit committee, and short form prospectus requirements.

The relief was sought in connection with a plan to file a collective base shelf prospectus authorizing the issuance of debt securities, preference shares, and limited partnership units.

The Commission granted the requested exemptive relief, subject to specific conditions regarding the applicants' corporate structure, guarantees, and compliance with alternative disclosure regimes.

The filer applied to the Ontario Securities Commission for an exemption from the prospectus requirement under the Securities Act.

The exemption was sought to permit investment dealers to use standard term sheets, marketing materials, and conduct road shows in connection with future offerings under a final Canadian MJDS shelf prospectus.

The Commission granted the requested exemptive relief, provided that the conditions and requirements set out in Part 9A of National Instrument 44-102 are complied with.