Capital Markets Tribunal
Citation: Bridging Finance Inc (Re), 2022 ONCMT 37 Date: 2022-12-06 File No. 2022-9
IN THE MATTER OF BRIDGING FINANCE INC., DAVID SHARPE, NATASHA SHARPE and ANDREW MUSHORE
REASONS FOR DECISION
(Section 25.0.1 of the Statutory Powers Procedure Act, RSO 1990, c S.22)
Adjudicators: Timothy Moseley (chair of the panel) Sandra Blake Dale R. Ponder
Hearing: By videoconference, November 28, 2022; written submissions received November 30, 2022
Appearances: Mark Bailey Johanna Braden For Staff of the Ontario Securities Commission
Erin Pleet For the receiver of Bridging Finance Inc.
Melissa MacKewn Naomi Lutes Alexandra Grishanova For David Sharpe
Lawrence E. Thacker For Natasha Sharpe
Jonathan Wansbrough For Andrew Mushore
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- OVERVIEW
- BACKGROUND
- ANALYSIS 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Should the stay motions precede the merits hearing? 3.2.1 Nature of the Sharpes’ stay motions 3.2.2 Analysis about whether the stay motions should precede the merits hearing 3.3 Should the stay motions await the determination of the judicial review application? 3.4 Scheduling of the disclosure and stay motions 3.5 Timing of the merits hearing
- CONCLUSION
REASONS FOR DECISION
1. OVERVIEW
1On November 28, 2022, the parties to this enforcement proceeding attended a hearing to address various scheduling issues. On December 2, 2022, we issued an order, for reasons to follow, providing that:
a. motions brought by the respondents David Sharpe and Natasha Sharpe seeking disclosure will be heard on January 30, 2023, with a schedule for the exchange of materials in advance of that hearing;
b. motions brought by David Sharpe and Natasha Sharpe to stay this proceeding will be heard on May 23, 2023; and
c. the merits hearing in this proceeding is scheduled to begin on June 26, 2023, and proceed intermittently for a total of 35 days, ending in mid‑December 2023.
2In making that order, we:
a. accepted the Sharpes’ submission that the stay motions should be heard before the merits hearing, because the efficiencies in doing so outweigh the risk of duplicated or wasted effort; and
b. rejected the Sharpes’ submission that the hearing of the stay motions should await the final determination of a judicial review application brought by David Sharpe with respect to a decision of this Tribunal in another proceeding, because the issues in that application are insufficiently connected to this proceeding, and acceding to the Sharpes’ request would risk significantly delaying this proceeding.
2. BACKGROUND
3The factual background to this proceeding, and to other proceedings arising out of the same facts, is set out in greater detail in this Tribunal’s recent reasons and decision in Tribunal file number 2021-15 (the temporary cease trade proceeding).1 The following summary highlights the most relevant facts for the purposes of these reasons.
4On April 30, 2021, the Ontario Securities Commission ordered2 that trading