On May 6, 2020, the Canadian Securities Administrators, in
conjunction with the Ontario Securities Commission, held a webinar
on public companies' COVID-19 continuous disclosure
obligations. The main message is that there is no "one size
fits all" when it comes to fulfilling continuous disclosure
obligations in light of COVID-19. COVID-19 will impact reporting
issuers in a variety of ways, and these need to be detailed for
investors.
The following are considerations for issuers to think about when
discussing the effects of COVID-19 above and beyond their existing
disclosure requirements.
Filing Extensions
Ontario Instrument 51-502: Temporary Exemption from Certain
Corporate Finance Requirements also known as a "Blanket
Relief Order" provides affected persons or companies with a
45-day extension to file, send or deliver certain documents
otherwise due during the period from March 23, 2020 to June 1,
2020.
