Freely Trading Securities Without A Prospectus

CSA Proposes Efficient New Means of Raising Equity Capital for Canadian Public Companies

For many smaller Canadian public companies, the current short-form prospectus regime can be prohibitive from a cost perspective, and some investment dealers have less interest in smaller offerings. The Canadian Securities Administrators (“CSA”) has proposed a new prospectus exemption (the “Exemption”) for reporting issuers listed on a recognized stock exchange in Canada, which is intended to serve as an alternative to the commonly used short-form prospectus regime. The proposed Exemption aims to both reduce the cost and regulatory burden associated with accessing the public markets, while facilitating enhanced retail investor participation in securities offerings and maintaining appropriate protections for those investors.