CSA Streamlines Rules For Capital-Raising

On September 8, 2022, the Canadian Securities Administrators (the "CSA") announced the adoption of a new prospectus exemption for issuers listed on a Canadian stock exchange¹. The goal of the new exemption is to provide a more efficient way for issuers to raise smaller amounts of capital and have better access to retail investors, while also reducing regulatory burden and associated costs.

Subject to receiving all necessary Ministerial approvals, the exemption will become effective on November 21, 2022.

The purpose of the exemption is to provide, for certain issuers, the option to raise capital relying on their continuous disclosure filings. While the exemption promises to create another flexible and efficient method to access public capital, we note that the use of the prospectus exemption might not be available to all issuers and there are limits on how much an issuer can raise relying on the exemption in any one year period (discussed in further detail below).