Mary Anne De Monte-Whelan

The Filers applied to the Ontario Securities Commission for exemptive relief on behalf of certain mutual funds to permit investments in Northleaf Funds, despite a substantial securityholder of the Filers having a significant interest in the Northleaf Funds.

The Filers also sought relief from the requirement to file monthly reports for related party transactions.

The Commission granted the requested relief, subject to conditions including approval by the mutual funds' independent review committees and compliance with continuous disclosure requirements.

The applicant applied for exemptive relief on behalf of an exchange-traded fund and future ETFs.

The applicant sought exemptions from the requirement to include an underwriter's certificate in the ETF's prospectus and from the take-over bid requirements for purchasers of listed securities in the normal course.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted both exemptions, noting that authorized dealers do not perform conventional underwriting services and that applying take-over bid requirements would adversely impact the liquidity of the listed securities.

The applicant, Royal Gold, Inc., applied for an exemption from the prospectus requirement under paragraph 74(1)2 of the Securities Act (Ontario).

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

Australis Capital Inc. applied for exemptive relief under section 140(2) of the Securities Act to keep an erroneously filed management information circular confidential.

The incorrect circular contained misleading information regarding dissident nominee directors.

The Filer subsequently filed the correct circular.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the application, finding that the desirability of avoiding further disclosure of the incorrect circular outweighed the principle of public availability, and that keeping it private would not prejudice the public interest.

Following a merits decision finding that the respondents breached a cease trade order by issuing approximately US$7.4 million in convertible debentures, the Commission held a sanctions and costs hearing.

The Commission ordered permanent market bans against the individual respondents, finding their conduct egregious and demonstrating a serious risk to the public.

The Commission ordered disgorgement of the funds obtained from new debentures, but excluded the value of rolled debentures as no new funds were obtained.

Administrative penalties totaling $600,000 and costs totaling $100,000 were also ordered against the individual respondents.

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.

Fortive Corporation applied for an exemption from the prospectus requirement under section 53 of the Securities Act in connection with the proposed spin-off distribution of shares of its wholly-owned subsidiary, Vontier Corporation, to its Canadian shareholders.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the exemption, noting that the number of Canadian shareholders was de minimis and that they would receive the same disclosure materials as US shareholders.

The first trade of the distributed shares will be subject to the resale restrictions in National Instrument 45-102.

The applicants, Summit Industrial Income REIT and its agents, applied to the Ontario Securities Commission for exemptive relief from the Prospectus Delivery Requirement and Prospectus Form Requirements in connection with an at-the-market distribution of trust units.

The Commission granted the requested relief, subject to conditions including minimum trading volume and value requirements, and specific disclosure obligations.

The Commission also granted confidentiality relief, keeping the application and decision confidential until the earliest of several specified events.

The Filer, an Australian mining company listed on the ASX, applied for an order to cease to be a reporting issuer in Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba.

The Filer demonstrated that Canadian residents beneficially own less than 2% of its outstanding securities and comprise less than 2% of its total securityholders worldwide.

The Ontario Securities Commission, acting as principal regulator, granted the order, noting the Filer's undertaking to concurrently deliver continuous disclosure to its Canadian registered securityholders.

TD Asset Management Inc. applied for exemptive relief on behalf of its investment funds to permit investments in related underlying infrastructure and real estate pools.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted relief from related issuer, consent requirement, reporting, and self-dealing restrictions, subject to conditions including independent valuation of underlying assets, independent review committee approval, and compliance with illiquid asset restrictions.

The applicants, Chemtrade Logistics Income Fund and BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc., applied to the Ontario Securities Commission for exemptive relief in connection with an at-the-market (ATM) distribution of trust units.

The applicants sought exemptions from the prospectus delivery requirement, certain prospectus form requirements, and the 10% aggregate cap on ATM distributions under National Instrument 44-102.

The Commission granted the requested exemptions, subject to conditions including minimum trading volume and value requirements, and specific disclosure obligations.

The Filer, a South African investment holding company, applied for an exemption from the prospectus requirement under section 53 of the Securities Act (Ontario).

The exemption was sought to permit the distribution of ordinary shares of RMB Holdings Limited to the Filer's Canadian shareholders by way of a dividend in specie.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the exemption, subject to the condition that the first trade in the distributed shares be deemed a distribution unless specific resale conditions are met.

The applicant applied to the Ontario Securities Commission for an exemption from the requirement under section 117 of the securities legislation to file monthly reports of transactions between its mutual fund and related parties.

The applicant argued that the reporting requirement was duplicative of the continuous disclosure obligations under NI 81-106.

The Commission granted the exemptive relief, subject to conditions requiring the disclosure of related party fees and the identity of the related parties in the fund's management reports of fund performance and portfolio transaction records.

The Filer, AGF Investments Inc., applied to the Ontario Securities Commission for exemptive relief from subsection 5.1(a) of National Instrument 81-105 Mutual Fund Sales Practices.

The relief sought would permit the Filer to pay participating dealers for direct costs incurred relating to cooperative marketing initiatives where the primary purpose is to provide educational information concerning financial planning matters.

The Commission granted the requested exemption, subject to several conditions, including that the Filer does not require participating dealers to sell its funds and that the materials presented contain only general educational information.

Staff of the Ontario Securities Commission and the respondent audit firm jointly submitted a settlement agreement for approval regarding the respondent's audits of two investment funds.

The respondent admitted to failing to conduct its audits in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards, including failing to obtain sufficient audit evidence, lacking professional skepticism, and failing to complete required engagement quality control reviews.

The Commission approved the settlement, finding it in the public interest, and ordered the respondent to be reprimanded, pay an administrative penalty of $3.5 million, and pay costs of $500,000.

Staff of the Ontario Securities Commission alleged that MOAG Copper Gold Resources Inc. and its directors, Gary Brown and Bradley Jones, violated a temporary cease trade order by issuing and selling approximately US$7.4 million in convertible debentures to Taiwan residents.

The Commission found that the issuance of both new debentures for cash and rolled debentures in exchange for forbearance of repayment constituted trades in securities.

The Commission further found that Brown and Jones engaged in acts in furtherance of these trades, thereby contravening Ontario securities law.

The Filers applied to the Ontario Securities Commission for exemptive relief from the Prospectus Delivery Requirement and certain Prospectus Form Requirements in connection with an at-the-market (ATM) distribution of common shares.

The Commission granted the requested relief, subject to conditions including alternative disclosure requirements and reporting obligations, noting that prospectus delivery is impracticable in an ATM distribution where the identity of purchasers is unknown.

The Filer applied for exemptive relief on behalf of its mutual funds that offer both ETF and mutual fund securities.

The requested relief included exemptions from the long-form prospectus requirement for ETF securities, the underwriter's certificate requirement, and the take-over bid requirements for secondary market purchasers.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested relief, allowing the funds to use a simplified prospectus and annual information form, and exempting them from the underwriter's certificate and take-over bid requirements.

The Filer, Tobias Lütke, applied to the Ontario Securities Commission for an exemption from the prospectus requirement to sell Class A Shares of Shopify Inc. under an automatic securities disposition plan (ASDP).

The Filer, deemed a control person, argued that complying with the prospectus exemption conditions for control trades would impede the ASDP's operation.

The Commission granted the exemption, subject to conditions including trading limits, reporting requirements, and restrictions on the Filer's involvement in the sales.

The Commission also granted confidentiality relief until the earlier of public disclosure of the ASDP or 60 days from the decision.

The applicants sought an exemption from the prohibition in Subsection 5.4(1) of National Instrument 81-105 to permit mutual fund organizations to pay the direct costs incurred by the Portfolio Management Association of Canada (PMAC) relating to educational events.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested relief, subject to conditions including that the primary purpose of the events be educational and that no single mutual fund organization pay more than 10% of the total direct costs.