OSC 2016

The Filer applied to the Ontario Securities Commission for approval of the merger of certain terminating funds into continuing funds under paragraph 5.5(1)(b) of National Instrument 81-102.

The mergers did not satisfy the criteria for pre-approved reorganizations because the investment objectives were not substantially similar and the trust fund merger was not a qualifying exchange under the Income Tax Act.

The Commission granted the requested approval, subject to the Filer obtaining prior securityholder approval at a special meeting.

The Filer applied on behalf of the Fund for exemptive relief from certain provisions of National Instrument 81-102.

The requested relief would permit the Fund to invest up to 100% of its net assets in physical silver bullion and to accept a combination of cash and physical silver bullion as subscription proceeds for units of the Fund.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested relief, subject to conditions regarding prospectus disclosure and compliance with paragraph 9.4(2)(b) of NI 81-102.

The Filer, Restaurant Brands International Inc., applied for exemptive relief to send proxy-related materials to registered and beneficial holders of its securities using the notice-and-access delivery method permitted under U.S. federal securities law.

The Filer is an SEC issuer but could not rely on the automatic exemptions in NI 51-102 and NI 54-101 because more than 50% of its consolidated assets are located in Canada and its business is administered principally in Canada.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested relief, allowing the Filer to use the U.S. notice-and-access rules for its 2016 annual and special meeting.

The Filer applied for exemptive relief on behalf of certain mutual funds from the investment restrictions in paragraphs 2.5(2)(a), (b) and (c) of National Instrument 81-102.

The relief sought to permit the funds to purchase and hold securities of underlying closed-end funds, and to permit a specific fund to invest in a top fund that holds more than 10% of its net asset value in underlying closed-end funds.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested relief, subject to conditions including limits on the percentage of net asset value invested in closed-end funds and leverage exposure.

The Filer applied for exemptive relief under National Instrument 81-102 to approve the restructuring of two investment funds.

The restructuring involved the pre-settlement of a forward agreement, the conversion of the reference fund to an open-end mutual fund, and the termination of the fund with an in specie distribution to unitholders.

The principal regulator granted the requested approval, finding that the restructuring met the test set out in the legislation.

Invesco Canada Ltd. applied on behalf of several PowerShares ETFs for exemptive relief under Part 19 of National Instrument 41-101.

The applicant sought an exemption from the requirement to include audited financial statements and an auditor's report in the ETFs' prospectus.

The Director of the Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested relief, to be evidenced by the issuance of a receipt for the ETFs' prospectus.

The applicant applied to the Director of the Ontario Securities Commission for an exemption from the requirement to include audited financial statements and an auditor's report in the prospectus of certain exchange-traded funds.

The Director granted the requested relief based on the information and representations made in the application.

The applicant, an investment fund manager, applied for exemptive relief on behalf of certain top funds to permit them to invest in underlying funds managed by the applicant, despite the top funds becoming substantial security holders of the underlying funds.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested relief, subject to conditions including that the top funds are distributed solely pursuant to prospectus exemptions and that appropriate disclosure of potential conflicts of interest is provided to investors.

The applicant applied on behalf of the First Trust Senior Loan ETF for exemptive relief from the borrowing restriction in Section 2.6(a)(i) of National Instrument 81-102.

The relief was sought to allow the ETF to borrow cash on a temporary basis to accommodate redemption requests while settling portfolio transactions, up to 10% of its net asset value.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the exemption, subject to conditions including disclosure requirements and limitations on borrowing when trading is suspended.

The Filer applied for exemptive relief on behalf of the Tradex Global Equity Fund to permit the Fund to invest in closed-end funds and foreign closed-end funds, contrary to paragraphs 2.5(2)(a) and (c) of National Instrument 81-102.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the exemption, finding it was not prejudicial to the public interest, subject to conditions including limits on leverage exposure and compliance with certain investment restrictions.

The applicants sought exemptive relief from the prohibition in section 13.5(2)(b) of National Instrument 31-103 against a registered adviser knowingly causing an investment portfolio to purchase or sell a security by way of an in specie transaction from or to the investment portfolio of an associate or an investment fund for which a responsible person acts as an adviser.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the relief, permitting in specie transactions between pooled funds and managed accounts, subject to conditions including valuation requirements, independent pricing for illiquid securities, and client consent.

The applicant, an investment fund manager, applied for exemptive relief from certain provisions of National Instrument 81-102 to permit its mutual funds to invest in exchange-traded funds managed by the applicant.

The requested exemptions related to concentration restrictions, control restrictions, fund of fund restrictions, and the payment of brokerage commissions.

The principal regulator granted the requested exemptions, subject to conditions ensuring the investments align with the funds' objectives and comply with other regulatory requirements.

The applicant, TD Asset Management Inc., applied for exemptive relief on behalf of the TD Corporate Bond Capital Yield Fund from the requirement under s. 5.1(1)(c) of National Instrument 81-102 to obtain securityholder approval before changing the fundamental investment objectives of the Fund.

The change was prompted by amendments to the Income Tax Act that eliminated the tax benefits associated with Character Conversion Transactions.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the exemption, provided that securityholders are sent a written notice at least 60 days before the effective date of the change.

The applicant, First Asset CanBanc Split Corp., applied to the Ontario Securities Commission and other jurisdictions for a decision that it is no longer a reporting issuer.

The applicant represented that its outstanding securities are beneficially owned by fewer than 15 security holders in each Canadian jurisdiction and fewer than 51 worldwide, and that its securities are not traded on any marketplace.

The Commission was satisfied that the statutory test was met and ordered that the applicant is not a reporting issuer.

The Applicant, St Andrew Goldfields Ltd., applied to the Ontario Securities Commission and other provincial regulators for a decision that it is no longer a reporting issuer.

The Applicant represented that its outstanding securities are beneficially owned by fewer than 15 securityholders in each Canadian jurisdiction and fewer than 51 worldwide, and that its securities are not traded on any marketplace.

The Decision Maker was satisfied that the statutory test was met and ordered that the Applicant is not a reporting issuer.

The Filer applied for exemptive relief from the requirements of paragraphs 15.3(4)(c) and 15.3(4)(f) of National Instrument 81-102 to permit the use of FundGrade A+ Awards and FundGrade Ratings in sales communications for its mutual funds.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the exemption, subject to conditions including specific disclosure requirements and a limitation that the referenced award must not have been awarded more than 365 days before the date of the sales communication.

The applicant, Aston Hill Capital Markets Inc., applied on behalf of several terminating closed-end investment funds for approval to merge into the North American Financials Capital Securities Trust under paragraph 5.5(1)(b) of National Instrument 81-102.

The merger required approval because the continuing fund did not have substantially similar fundamental investment objectives or fee structures as the terminating funds.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested exemptive relief, finding that the merger would achieve a fair and reasonable result for the funds and their unitholders.

The Filer applied for a decision that it is not a reporting issuer in the jurisdictions.

Following a statutory plan of arrangement where all outstanding common shares were acquired by a parent company, the Filer's shares were delisted and it had fewer than 15 security holders in each Canadian jurisdiction.

The Ontario Securities Commission, acting as principal regulator, granted the requested relief, deeming the Filer to have ceased to be a reporting issuer.

The applicant applied for an exemption from the requirement to prepare and file a management report of fund performance for its newly established portfolios for the annual period ended December 31, 2015.

The portfolios had not yet issued securities to the public and had minimal operations.

The principal regulator granted the requested relief, finding that the cost of preparing the report would outweigh any benefit given the lack of significant information to disclose.

The applicant, Schneider Electric S.E., applied to the Ontario Securities Commission for exemptive relief from the prospectus and dealer registration requirements under Ontario securities legislation.

The relief was sought to facilitate a global employee share offering (the WESOP) for Canadian employees of the applicant's affiliates.

The Commission granted the requested relief, subject to standard conditions regarding the first trade of the securities.