OSC Publishes Report On Exempt Market Activity

The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) recently published OSC Staff Notice 45-717 - Ontario's Exempt Market: A review of capital raised in Ontario through prospectus exemptions since 2017 (the "Report"). The Report summarizes private or "exempt market" activity in Ontario by non-investment fund issuers between 2017 and 2019, and the use of a number of new prospectus exemptions during that period. The Report is limited to information required to be reported to the OSC, and therefore does not provide a complete picture of all exempt market activity. Overall, the Report notes a marginal decline in the amount of capital raised in Ontario's exempt market in each year covered by the Report, although the number of issuers remained relatively stable and investor participation – particularly among individuals – increased considerably over that period.