OSC 2019

The applicant sought approval for the merger of two terminating funds into a continuing fund under subsection 5.5(1)(b) of National Instrument 81-102.

The merger did not meet all criteria for pre-approved reorganizations because it was not a qualifying exchange or tax-deferred transaction under the Income Tax Act.

The principal regulator granted the requested exemptive relief, finding that the merger would provide operational efficiencies and was in the best interest of unitholders.

The applicant, Caldwell Investment Management Ltd., applied for exemptive relief on behalf of its mutual funds that offer both ETF and mutual fund securities.

The relief sought to permit the funds to treat the ETF securities and mutual fund securities as separate funds for the purpose of complying with the sales and redemptions requirements under Parts 9, 10, and 14 of National Instrument 81-102.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested exemption, provided each class of securities complies with the provisions applicable to its respective type.

The applicant, Cowan Asset Management Limited, applied on behalf of the Cowan Absolute Return Fund for exemptive relief from the prohibition against making or holding an investment in an issuer in which a related party has a significant interest.

The Fund had inadvertently acquired shares in Ceres Global Ag.

Corp., an issuer in which the applicant's parent company held a significant interest.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested relief, permitting the Fund to continue holding and purchasing the shares, subject to conditions including the establishment of an independent review committee to approve such transactions.

The filer, a registered portfolio manager and investment fund manager, applied for exemptive relief from the prohibition in section 13.5(2)(b) of National Instrument 31-103 to permit specified in-specie transfers between managed accounts and pooled funds.

The purpose of the transfers is to reduce transaction costs and market impact costs for managed account clients.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested exemption, subject to conditions including client consent, valuation requirements, and record-keeping obligations.

The Filer applied to the Ontario Securities Commission for an order to cease being a reporting issuer in all jurisdictions of Canada.

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

The principal regulator granted the order, finding that the Filer met the test set out in the legislation.

Mackenzie Financial Corporation applied to the Ontario Securities Commission for approval to merge the Mackenzie Cundill US Class into the Mackenzie US Growth Class.

The merger required regulatory approval because it did not satisfy all pre-approval criteria under NI 81-102, specifically regarding tax-deferred status, substantially similar investment objectives, and the provision of current fund facts documents for certain series.

The Commission granted the requested relief, subject to the condition that the filer obtains prior approval from the securityholders of the terminating fund at a special meeting.

The Filer applied for exemptive relief on behalf of several exchange-traded funds to permit the Continuing Funds to use the historical financial data, performance data, and prior sales data of the Terminating Funds following a proposed merger.

The Continuing Funds were created solely to implement the merger and would have substantially similar investment objectives, strategies, and fee structures.

The principal regulator granted the requested relief, subject to conditions ensuring appropriate disclosure in the funds' prospectuses, ETF facts documents, and management reports of fund performance.

The applicant applied for exemptive relief on behalf of its mutual funds and alternative mutual funds from the requirement in NI 81-102 that all portfolio assets be held by a single custodian.

The relief sought to permit the funds to deposit portfolio assets with a prime broker acting as a borrowing agent in connection with short sales, up to 10% of NAV for mutual funds and 25% of NAV for alternative mutual funds, excluding the proceeds from outstanding short sales.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the exemption, finding it was not prejudicial to the public interest, provided the funds otherwise comply with subsections 6.8.1(2) and (3) of NI 81-102.

The applicant, 1832 Asset Management L.P., applied for exemptive relief on behalf of certain alternative mutual funds to permit them to short sell government securities up to a maximum of 300% of their net asset value.

The relief sought exemptions from the short selling restrictions in sections 2.6.1(1)(c)(v) and 2.6.2 of National Instrument 81-102.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested relief, subject to conditions including that the funds' aggregate exposure to short selling, cash borrowing, and specified derivatives not exceed the 300% aggregate leverage limit.

The Filer, Vision Capital Corporation, applied to the Ontario Securities Commission for exemptive relief from the trading prohibition in paragraph 13.5(2)(b) of National Instrument 31-103.

The requested relief would permit inter-fund trades of portfolio securities between various investment funds and managed accounts at the last sale price, and allow in specie transactions for the purchase and redemption of fund securities.

The Commission granted the requested exemption, subject to conditions including independent review committee approval, client consent for managed accounts, and specific valuation and record-keeping requirements.

The applicant, Franklin Templeton Investments Corp., applied for exemptive relief to extend the time limits for the renewal of the long form prospectus of several exchange traded funds.

The applicant sought to align the lapse date of the funds' prospectus with that of other funds it manages to reduce costs and streamline disclosure.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested exemption, finding it would not be prejudicial to the public interest.

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.

The Filer applied for exemptive relief from the cash cover requirements under section 2.8(1)(d) of National Instrument 81-102.

The Filer sought permission for its existing and future mutual funds and exchange-traded funds to hold receivables arising from distributions or dividends on portfolio securities as cover for long positions in standardized futures.

The principal regulator granted the exemption, allowing the funds to equitize the receivables and reduce tracking error, provided the funds hold a combination of the receivable, cash cover, and margin equal to the underlying market exposure of the futures position.

Callidus Capital Corporation applied to the Ontario Securities Commission for an order to cease being a reporting issuer in all jurisdictions of Canada where it is currently a reporting issuer.

The principal regulator found that the Filer met the necessary requirements, including having fewer than 15 securityholders in each Canadian jurisdiction and fewer than 51 worldwide, and not having its securities traded on any marketplace.

The order was granted.

The applicant, Caldwell Investment Management Ltd., applied on behalf of two mutual funds for approval to merge the Terminating Fund into the Continuing Fund.

Regulatory approval was required because the merger did not satisfy all criteria for pre-approved reorganizations under NI 81-102, specifically regarding the similarity of investment objectives and inadvertent omissions in the meeting materials.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested exemptive relief, finding that the merger was in the best interests of the funds and their unitholders.

The Filer applied for exemptive relief from the requirement under subsection 4.1(1) of NI 43-101 to file a technical report for each material mineral property upon becoming a reporting issuer.

The Filer also requested that the application and decision be kept confidential until the earlier of certain specified events.

The Ontario Securities Commission, acting as principal regulator, granted both the exemptive relief and the confidentiality request.

The Filer applied to the Ontario Securities Commission for approval of a proposed merger of two exchange-traded mutual funds under subsection 5.5(1)(b) of National Instrument 81-102.

The merger did not meet all criteria for pre-approved reorganizations because the funds did not have substantially similar fundamental investment objectives, the merger was not a qualifying exchange under the Income Tax Act, and a required statement was inadvertently omitted from the meeting materials.

The Commission granted the requested exemptive relief, allowing the merger to proceed.

The Filer applied for exemptive relief on behalf of several existing and future mutual funds to permit the filing of a single prospectus for both ETF and mutual fund securities under National Instrument 41-101, rather than separate prospectuses.

The Filer also sought relief to treat the ETF and mutual fund securities as separate funds for the purposes of the sales and redemption requirements under Parts 9, 10, and 14 of National Instrument 81-102.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested exemptions, subject to conditions ensuring appropriate disclosure and compliance with applicable provisions for each security type.

The applicant, CI Investments Inc., applied to the Ontario Securities Commission for exemptive relief under paragraph 5.5(1)(b) of National Instrument 81-102 to approve the mergers of several terminating mutual funds into continuing mutual funds.

The mergers did not meet all criteria for pre-approved reorganizations under section 5.6 of NI 81-102 because some funds did not have substantially similar fundamental investment objectives, some mergers were not qualifying exchanges under the Income Tax Act, and one fund required significant portfolio realignment.

The Commission granted the requested relief, subject to the applicant obtaining prior approval from the securityholders of the terminating funds and continuing corporate funds at special meetings.

The Filer, a Swedish mining company, applied for an order to cease to be a reporting issuer in Canada.

The Filer had voluntarily delisted from the TSX in 2013 and had no material connection to Canada other than a de minimis number of Canadian securityholders.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the order, finding that Canadian residents beneficially owned less than 2% of the outstanding shares and that the Filer qualifies as a designated foreign issuer.