Rhonda Goldberg

The Filer applied for exemptive relief on behalf of Sprott Physical Gold Trust to permit the Trust to include financial statements prepared using IFRS-IASB, rather than Canadian GAAP, in its prospectus and continuous disclosure filings.

The Trust, a closed-end mutual fund trust intending to list on the TSX and NYSE Arca, is a foreign private issuer with the SEC and is permitted to file IFRS statements in the US.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested relief, noting that early adoption of IFRS would save the Trust from incurring conversion and reconciliation expenses.

The applicant sought approval for a change of control of a mutual fund manager under National Instrument 81-102.

Due to an inadvertent oversight, the applicant failed to apply for prior regulatory approval and failed to send prior notice to securityholders.

The principal regulator granted the approval, noting that no changes would be made to the management, operations, or investment management of the mutual funds for 60 days after notice is provided to securityholders.

The applicant manager applied for exemptive relief on behalf of an exchange-traded mutual fund trust to permit the trust to invest up to 100% of its net assets in physical gold bullion.

The applicant also sought relief to appoint the Royal Canadian Mint as the gold custodian and to vary certain mutual fund requirements relating to the transmission of purchase or redemption orders, calculation and payment of redemptions, and the record date for distributions.

The principal regulator granted the requested exemptions, provided the prospectus contains disclosure regarding the unique risks of direct gold bullion purchases and the trust complies with applicable exchange requirements for setting distribution record dates.

The Filer applied for exemptive relief from certain custody requirements under National Instrument 81-102 on behalf of the Claymore Gold Bullion ETF.

The relief sought to permit the ETF to hold its physical gold bullion in and outside of Canada using Brinks and Via Mat as sub-custodians, entities not otherwise permitted under the Instrument.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the exemption, subject to conditions regarding the specific sub-custodians used and compliance reporting.

The applicant, Highwater Capital Management Corp., applied for exemptive relief from the mutual fund conflict of interest investment restrictions of the Securities Act and the self-dealing prohibition of National Instrument 31-103.

The relief was sought to permit top funds to invest in underlying funds structured as limited partnerships, creating a fund-on-fund structure.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested relief, subject to conditions including that the top funds are distributed in the private placement market, no duplication of fees occurs, and appropriate disclosure is provided to investors.

The Filer, PowerShares India Class, applied for exemptive relief from the restriction in subclause 2.5(2)(b) of National Instrument 81-102 that prevents a mutual fund from investing in another mutual fund that invests in a third fund (the three-tiered prohibition).

The relief was sought to allow the Top Fund to invest in the PowerShares ETF, which in turn invests in a Mauritius Underlying Fund to gain tax-efficient exposure to India's capital markets.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the exemption subject to conditions preventing fee duplication and ensuring appropriate pricing and structure.

The applicant, an investment fund, applied for exemptive relief from the requirement under National Instrument 81-106 to calculate its net asset value daily, given its use of specified derivatives.

The applicant proposed to calculate its net asset value weekly.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the exemption, provided the Class A Units are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the net asset value is calculated at least weekly.

The applicant, Ark Fund Management Ltd., applied on behalf of several mutual funds for exemptive relief from certain provisions of National Instrument 81-102 Mutual Funds.

Specifically, the applicant sought exemptions from prohibitions against providing a security interest over fund assets, selling securities short, and depositing fund assets with an entity other than the fund's custodian.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested relief, permitting the funds to short sell up to 20% of their net assets, subject to a series of conditions including maintaining cash cover, implementing internal controls, and providing appropriate disclosure to securityholders.

The applicants sought exemptive relief under National Instrument 81-106 to permit a newly amalgamated mutual fund (the Continuing Fund) to include the financial highlights and past performance data of the terminating fund in its management reports of fund performance.

The principal regulator granted the exemption, noting that the Continuing Fund is effectively a continuation of the terminating fund and its track record is significant information for investors.

The applicants sought exemptive relief under National Instruments 81-101, 81-102, and 81-106 to permit a newly formed continuing mutual fund to use the performance data, financial highlights, and start date of a terminating mutual fund following an amalgamation.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested relief, finding that the continuing fund was effectively a continuation of the terminating fund and that the terminating fund's track record was significant information that would assist investors.

The relief was conditional on the continuing fund appropriately disclosing the merger and preparing its communications and reports in accordance with the specified requirements.

The applicant, Marquest Asset Management Inc., applied for an exemption from the self-dealing prohibitions in subclause 13.5(2)(b)(iii) of National Instrument 31-103.

The exemption was sought to permit the merger of the Marquest Bridge Fund into the Marquest Equity Growth Fund, both of which are managed by the applicant.

The principal regulator granted the requested relief, allowing the one-time trade of securities between the pooled funds to implement the merger, with the costs of the merger to be borne by the manager.

The applicants sought exemptive relief from the conflict of interest provisions in sections 13.5(2)(a) and 13.5(2)(b) of National Instrument 31-103.

The relief was requested following the acquisition of the manager by another organization, to permit the mutual funds to purchase non-exchange-traded debt securities and exchange-traded securities of related entities in the secondary market.

The applicants also sought relief to permit inter-fund trades and in specie transfers between public mutual funds, pooled funds, and managed accounts.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested exemptions, subject to conditions including approval by the independent review committee, client consent for managed accounts, and compliance with pricing and transparency requirements.

The applicants, Barclays Global Investors Canada Limited and Barclays Global Investors, N.A., sought exemptive relief from the self-dealing and related-party transaction provisions of National Instrument 81-102.

The relief was requested following the acquisition of the manager by BlackRock, which would result in the funds being dealer-managed mutual funds.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested relief, permitting the funds to purchase securities of related entities on the secondary market and to conduct inter-fund trades with pooled funds, subject to conditions including Independent Review Committee approval and pricing requirements.

The applicant, manager of a commodity pool ETF, applied for exemptive relief from certain provisions of National Instrument 81-102 to permit the ETF to engage in short selling of securities up to 40% of its net assets.

The principal regulator granted the exemption, subject to conditions including limits on short positions in individual issuers, cash cover requirements, and internal controls.

The Manager, BMO Investments Inc., applied to the Ontario Securities Commission for exemptive relief under section 5.5(1)(b) of National Instrument 81-102 to permit the merger of several Terminating Funds into corresponding Continuing Funds.

The mergers did not meet all the criteria for pre-approved reorganizations under section 5.6 of NI 81-102, specifically regarding substantially similar investment objectives, fee structures, and certain prospectus delivery requirements.

The Commission granted the requested relief, subject to conditions ensuring securityholders receive adequate information and tailored simplified prospectuses to make informed decisions regarding the mergers.

The Filer applied for exemptive relief from the concentration restriction in section 2.1(1) of National Instrument 81-102 to permit the Funds to invest more than 10% of their net assets in sovereign debt and debt of supranational agencies.

The principal regulator granted the exemption, subject to conditions including that the debt must have a minimum credit rating of 'AA' or 'AAA' and that the Funds' simplified prospectuses must disclose the exemption and associated risks.

The applicant, Invesco Trimark Ltd., applied for exemptive relief on behalf of five global balanced funds from the concentration restriction in section 2.1(1) of National Instrument 81-102.

The relief sought to allow the funds to invest more than 10% of their net assets in debt securities issued by foreign governments or supranational agencies.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the exemption, subject to conditions limiting the investments to 35% for AAA-rated issuers and 20% for AA-rated issuers, provided the securities trade on a mature and liquid market and the funds' prospectuses disclose the exemption and associated risks.

The applicant sought approval for a change of control of the manager of the Canadian-domiciled family of iShares Funds, pursuant to subsection 5.5(2) of National Instrument 81-102.

The change of control resulted from the acquisition of the manager's parent company by the applicant.

The principal regulator found that the change of control would not affect the operation or administration of the funds and granted the requested approval.

The applicants sought exemptive relief on behalf of several index mutual funds from the conflict of interest provisions in section 4.1(1) of National Instrument 81-102.

The relief was requested to permit the funds to invest in equity securities during a distribution, or within 60 days thereafter, even if a related dealer acted as an underwriter.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the relief, noting that the funds require the ability to purchase these securities to accurately track their respective indices and meet their investment objectives.

The exemption was granted subject to several conditions, including that the independent review committee approve the transactions and that the securities be acquired from an underwriter that is not a related dealer.

The applicant applied for exemptive relief under section 19.1 of National Instrument 41-101 from the requirement in subsection 2.3(1) prohibiting an issuer from filing a prospectus more than 90 days after the date of the receipt for the preliminary prospectus.

The Director granted the requested exemption, provided the final prospectus is filed no later than November 13, 2009.