Ontario Securities Commission

The applicant, Counsel Portfolio Services Inc., applied for exemptive relief from the requirements of paragraphs 15.3(4)(c) and 15.3(4)(f) of National Instrument 81-102.

The relief was sought to permit the applicant's mutual funds to reference FundGrade A+ Awards, FundGrade Ratings, Lipper Awards, and Lipper Leader Ratings in their sales communications.

The principal regulator granted the exemption, subject to specific disclosure conditions, finding that the ratings provide objective and transparent performance measures that are helpful to investors.

The Filers applied for exemptive relief under the Securities Act (Ontario) to permit certain investment funds to invest in related infrastructure funds.

The principal regulator granted the requested exemptions from the Local Investment Restrictions and Local Reporting Requirements, subject to several conditions including independent valuation, IRC approval, and specific disclosure requirements.

The Filer applied for exemptive relief on behalf of several mutual funds to permit the inclusion of past performance data in sales communications, fund facts documents, and management reports of fund performance, despite the funds not having distributed securities under a simplified prospectus for 12 consecutive months.

The Filer also sought relief to permit the consolidation of the simplified prospectus for alternative mutual funds with conventional mutual funds.

The principal regulator granted the requested relief, subject to conditions requiring disclosure that the funds were not reporting issuers during the relevant periods and that expenses would have been higher had they been subject to reporting issuer requirements.

Brookfield Reinsurance Ltd. applied to the Ontario Securities Commission for exemptive relief from the requirement under National Instrument 44-102 that at-the-market distributions using shelf procedures be limited to equity securities.

The Filer sought to distribute Class A-1 Exchangeable Shares, which do not carry a residual right to participate in assets upon liquidation and thus are not equity securities, but are economically equivalent to Brookfield Class A Shares.

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

Akumin Inc. applied to the Ontario Securities Commission for an order to cease being a reporting issuer in all applicable Canadian jurisdictions following its Chapter 11 restructuring and domestication in Delaware.

The Filer's common shares and notes were cancelled or exchanged, and it became a privately held company with its sole shareholder being a non-resident of Canada.

The Commission granted the order, finding it met the legislative test, as the Filer no longer had significant Canadian public securityholders and was not subject to U.S. public reporting requirements.

Borealis Foods Inc. applied for exemptive relief from the prospectus requirement under section 74(1) of the Securities Act for the first trade of shares held by Canadian owners following a de-SPAC business combination with Oxus Acquisition Corp. The applicant also sought confidentiality relief.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested relief, subject to conditions regarding the percentage of shares held by Canadian owners and compliance with the First Trade Exemption.

The applicant, an investment fund manager, applied for exemptive relief on behalf of several alternative mutual funds from certain provisions of National Instrument 81-102.

The requested relief included exemptions from the short selling limit, the cash borrowing limit, and the requirement to hold all portfolio assets with a single qualified custodian.

The principal regulator granted the requested exemptions, subject to specific conditions regarding aggregate exposure limits, compliance with other short sale and cash borrowing requirements, and operational controls for multiple custodians.

The Filer applied for exemptive relief on behalf of an alternative mutual fund to exceed the leverage limits in NI 81-102 and to use the past performance data of its underlying fund from before it became a reporting issuer.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the relief, permitting the fund to use an Absolute Value-at-Risk (VaR) approach to manage leverage risk, subject to a 20% limit and strict risk management conditions.

The Commission also permitted the use of the underlying fund's past performance data in sales communications and disclosure documents, provided specific cautionary disclosures are included.

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

The principal regulator granted the exemption, subject to conditions requiring specific disclosure about the ratings and awards, including the category, number of funds, ranking entity, and measurement periods.

The applicant, Consolidated Uranium Inc., applied to the Ontario Securities Commission for an order that it has ceased to be a reporting issuer in all jurisdictions of Canada in which it is 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 principal regulator was satisfied that the test under the legislation was met and granted the requested order.

The Filer, Newcrest Mining Limited, 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 in Canada or elsewhere.

The principal regulator granted the order, finding that the Filer met the test under the securities legislation.

BlackRock Asset Management Canada Limited applied for exemptive relief to extend the lapse date of the long form prospectus for certain exchange-traded mutual funds.

The extension was requested to align the renewal timeframe of these ETFs with other iShares funds managed by the filer, thereby reducing costs and streamlining operations.

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

The TDL Group Corp. applied to the Ontario Securities Commission for an order declaring that it has ceased to be a reporting issuer in all jurisdictions of Canada.

The Filer demonstrated 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 principal regulator was satisfied that the statutory test was met and granted the requested order.

Spark Power Group Inc. applied for an order to cease being a reporting issuer in all jurisdictions of Canada where it is a reporting issuer.

The Ontario Securities Commission, acting as the principal regulator, found that the Filer met the requirements, including having fewer than 15 securityholders in each Canadian jurisdiction and fewer than 51 worldwide, and not being in default of securities legislation.

The order was granted.

Allkem Limited applied to the Ontario Securities Commission for an order to cease being a reporting issuer in all applicable Canadian jurisdictions.

The principal regulator, satisfied that the filer met the requirements—including having fewer than 15 securityholders in each Canadian jurisdiction and fewer than 51 worldwide, with no securities traded on a marketplace—granted the order.

The applicant, Manulife Investment Management Limited, applied for an order that the Manulife EAFE Equity Fund cease to be a reporting issuer in all jurisdictions of Canada where it is currently a reporting issuer.

The principal regulator found that the outstanding securities of the Fund are beneficially owned by fewer than 15 securityholders in each jurisdiction of Canada and fewer than 51 worldwide, and no securities are traded on a marketplace.

The order was granted.

The applicant, Fidelity Investments Canada ULC, applied for exemptive relief to extend the lapse date of the simplified prospectus for the Fidelity Global Growth Private Pool.

The extension was requested to align the fund's prospectus renewal with other funds managed by the applicant, thereby reducing costs and allowing for a consolidated offering document.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested relief, extending the lapse date to April 25, 2024.

Hut 8 Mining Corp. applied to the Ontario Securities Commission for an order to cease being a reporting issuer in all applicable Canadian jurisdictions.

Following a business combination and amalgamation, the applicant's common shares were exchanged for shares of a new entity and delisted from the TSX and Nasdaq.

The principal regulator found that the applicant met the necessary criteria and granted the order.

BMO Investments Inc. applied for exemptive relief from subsection 2.15(3) of National Instrument 81-102, which prohibits an investment fund manager from appointing an agent that is not a custodian or sub-custodian to administer securities lending transactions.

The applicant sought to appoint eSecLending, an independent securities lending agent, to administer transactions for its funds.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested exemption, noting that eSecLending is qualified and that the appointment could improve revenue generated from securities lending activities without increasing operational risk.

The Filer applied for exemptive relief on behalf of its investment funds from the concentration restrictions in subsections 2.1(1) and 2.1(1.1) of National Instrument 81-102.

The relief sought to permit the funds to invest more than 10% (for mutual funds) or 20% (for alternative mutual funds and non-redeemable investment funds) of their net asset value in debt obligations issued or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the exemption, subject to conditions including minimum credit rating requirements and specific prospectus disclosures.