Mary G. Condon

The Applicants brought a motion requesting the dismissal of the proceeding against them and, alternatively, that the proceeding be heard by another panel member due to a reasonable apprehension of bias.

They also sought to vary a prior interlocutory decision limiting their witness list.

The Ontario Securities Commission dismissed the motion in its entirety.

The Commission held that a motion to dismiss based on the merits of the allegations was premature.

It also found no novel issues or evidence to justify varying the prior witness motion decision under section 78(1) of the Commodity Futures Act.

Finally, the Commission concluded that the Applicants' disagreement with the prior decision did not establish a reasonable apprehension of bias.

The applicants sought a stay of a Director's Decision that permanently suspended their registration as an exempt market dealer and dealing representative, pending a hearing and review by the Commission.

Applying the RJR-MacDonald test, the Commission found there was a serious issue to be tried, the applicants would suffer irreparable harm to their business and livelihood without a stay, and the balance of convenience favoured granting a conditional stay.

The Commission ordered a stay subject to conditions requiring the applicants to post the Director's Decision on their website and provide it to clients.

The Commission also ordered the removal of an Investor Alert from its website but declined to order a retraction.

The applicants, respondents in an enforcement proceeding alleging unregistered trading and advising in commodity futures, brought a motion for direction to summons approximately 700 witnesses for the merits hearing.

The proposed witnesses included 679 account holders, Commission enforcement staff, brokerage executives, and other individuals.

The Commission held that while the threshold for issuing a summons is low, the evidence sought must be relevant and not unduly repetitious.

The Commission found that the applicants failed to demonstrate that all 679 account holders would provide relevant, non-repetitious evidence, but permitted a representative sample to be called.

The requests to summons enforcement staff and other witnesses were denied at this stage due to an insufficient basis demonstrating relevance or necessity.

The Applicants, registered broker-dealers, applied for exemptive relief from certain disclosure requirements under National Instrument 33-105 and OSC Rule 45-501 when offering foreign securities to Canadian permitted clients on a private placement basis.

The requested relief included exemptions from providing Canadian-specific connected and related issuer disclosure, and statutory right of action disclosure, provided that U.S. registered offering disclosure standards are met and purchasers receive a specific notice.

The principal regulator and coordinated review decision makers granted the requested exemptions, subject to conditions including the delivery of a notice to purchasers and monthly reporting of distributions.

The Applicant, Leerink Swann LLC, applied for exemptive relief from certain disclosure requirements under National Instrument 33-105 and OSC Rule 45-501.

The Applicant sought relief from the requirement to provide disclosure on conflicts of interest and connected issuer relationships when offering foreign securities to permitted clients in Canada, provided that U.S. registered offering disclosure is provided instead.

The Applicant also sought relief from the requirement to include a description of the statutory right of action for damages and rescission in the offering memorandum.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested exemptions, subject to certain conditions, including the delivery of a specific notice to prospective purchasers and the filing of reports of exempt distribution.

IIROC Staff applied for a hearing and review of an IIROC Hearing Panel decision that dismissed allegations against TD Securities Inc. (TDSI) for failing to comply with its trading supervision obligations.

The IIROC Hearing Panel had found that several TDSI traders entered artificial closing bids but concluded that TDSI's supervisory system was adequate.

On review, the Ontario Securities Commission found that the IIROC Hearing Panel did not overlook or misapprehend material evidence, nor did it err in law or proceed on an incorrect principle.

The Commission deferred to the IIROC Hearing Panel's factual determinations and its assessment of the adequacy of TDSI's multi-tiered supervisory system.

The application was dismissed.

The Filer applied for exemptive relief on behalf of its exchange-traded funds from the requirement to include an underwriter's certificate in the prospectus and the requirement to include a prescribed statement of purchasers' statutory rights.

The principal regulator granted the relief, subject to conditions including the filing and delivery of a Summary Document for each class or series of ETF securities, and revoked prior related exemptive relief decisions.

The Filers, registered investment dealers, applied to the Ontario Securities Commission for exemptive relief from the prospectus delivery requirement under the Securities Act in connection with the distribution of exchange-traded fund (ETF) securities.

The Filers argued that compliance with the requirement was not practicable for re-sales of creation units on an exchange, as they often do not know the purchaser's identity or whether the sale involves creation units.

The Commission granted the requested relief, subject to conditions including that the Filers send or deliver a prescribed summary disclosure document to purchasers with their trade confirmations.

The exemption is subject to a sunset clause terminating on September 1, 2015.

The Filer applied for exemptive relief on behalf of its existing and future exchange-traded funds from the requirement to include an underwriter's certificate in the prospectus and the requirement to include a prescribed statement of purchasers' statutory rights.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the relief, subject to conditions including the filing and delivery of a Summary Document for each class or series of ETF securities, and revoked prior related relief.

The applicant applied to the Ontario Securities Commission for exemptive relief on behalf of its existing and future exchange-traded funds.

The applicant sought relief from the requirement to include an underwriter's certificate in the funds' prospectuses and the requirement to include a prescribed statement of purchasers' statutory rights.

The applicant also sought to vary previous decisions granting similar relief.

The Commission granted the requested exemptions, subject to conditions including the filing and delivery of a prescribed Summary Document for each class or series of ETF securities.

The relief was granted to facilitate the continuous distribution of ETF units and align with the Canadian Securities Administrators' Point of Sale Disclosure Initiative.

The Filers applied for exemptive relief from the prospectus delivery requirement under the Securities Act in connection with distributions of ETF securities.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the relief, conditional on the Filers sending or delivering a prescribed summary disclosure document to purchasers with the trade confirmation.

The relief is subject to a sunset clause terminating on September 1, 2015, consistent with the implementation of the Canadian Securities Administrators Point of Sale Disclosure Initiative.

The applicant, First Asset Investment Management Inc., applied on behalf of its existing and future exchange-traded funds for exemptive relief from the requirement to include an underwriter's certificate in the funds' prospectus and the requirement to include a prescribed statement respecting purchasers' statutory rights.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested relief, subject to conditions including the filing and delivery of a prescribed Summary Document for each fund, and revoked prior related exemptive relief decisions.

The Filers applied to the Ontario Securities Commission for exemptive relief from the prospectus delivery requirement in connection with distributions of exchange-traded fund (ETF) securities.

The Commission granted the relief, conditional on the Filers sending or delivering a prescribed summary disclosure document to purchasers with the trade confirmation.

The exemption is subject to a sunset clause terminating on September 1, 2015.

The applicants, registered investment dealers, applied for exemptive relief from the prospectus delivery requirement under the Securities Act in connection with the distribution of exchange-traded fund (ETF) securities.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the relief, conditional upon the dealers sending or delivering a prescribed summary disclosure document to purchasers with the trade confirmation.

The exemption is subject to a sunset clause and aligns with the Canadian Securities Administrators' Point of Sale Disclosure Initiative.

The applicant, RBC Global Asset Management Inc., applied for exemptive relief on behalf of its existing and future exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

The requested relief sought exemptions from the requirement to include an underwriter's certificate in the ETFs' prospectuses and the requirement to include a prescribed statement respecting purchasers' statutory rights.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the relief, subject to conditions including the filing and delivery of a Summary Document for each class or series of ETF securities, consistent with the CSA Point of Sale Disclosure Initiative.

The filers, managers of exchange-traded funds, applied for exemptive relief from the requirement to include an underwriter's certificate in the funds' prospectuses and the requirement to include a prescribed statement of purchasers' statutory rights.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the relief, subject to conditions including the filing and delivery of a prescribed Summary Document for each fund, consistent with the CSA Point of Sale Disclosure Initiative.

Previous decisions granting similar relief were varied or revoked.

The applicant sought a temporary cease trade order against an insider bid made by the respondent, alleging the respondent failed to obtain a formal valuation as required by MI 61-101.

The applicant argued the respondent possessed undisclosed material information, specifically confidential power purchase agreement pricing and wind speed data.

The Commission found the applicant failed to provide prima facie evidence that the information was material, noting the applicant's own Directors' Circular stated there was no undisclosed material information.

The Commission dismissed the request for a temporary cease trade order and granted the respondent's cross-motion to dismiss the application.

Following a merits decision finding the respondents engaged in unregistered trading, illegal distribution, and fraud by raising $1,696,750 from over 110 investors for a sham mining operation, the Commission held a sanctions and costs hearing.

The Commission ordered permanent market bans against all respondents, administrative penalties of $300,000 against each of the three individual respondents, disgorgement of the total funds raised on a joint and several basis, and costs of $210,241.39.

Following a merits decision finding the respondents engaged in unregistered trading and illegal distribution of securities, the Ontario Securities Commission held a hearing to determine sanctions and costs.

The Commission imposed permanent trading and director/officer bans on the respondents, with limited carve-outs for RESPs.

The Commission also ordered administrative penalties of $300,000 for Elin and $400,000 for Mellon, and joint disgorgement of $353,229.19.

Staff's request for costs was denied due to an unexplained 18-month delay in the proceedings.

Following a merits decision finding that the respondents engaged in an illegal and fraudulent distribution of securities that raised $2.1 million from investors, the Ontario Securities Commission held a sanctions and costs hearing.

The Commission ordered permanent market participation bans against all respondents and required them to disgorge the $2.1 million obtained through their non-compliance.

The Commission also imposed administrative penalties of $500,000 on Eatch and $600,000 on McKenzie.

Staff's request for costs was dismissed, as the Commission found the respondents were entitled to a hearing on the fraud allegations.