OSC Releases Progress Report On Its Exempt Market Review

Co-author: Cody Mann, student at law

In August 2013, the Ontario Securities Commission (the "OSC") published OSC Notice 45-712 Progress Report on Review of Prospectus Exemptions to Facilitate Capital Raising (the "Progress Report"). The Progress Report provides an update on the OSC's review of the prospectus exempt market which was initiated in June 2012 (the "Review"), as well as identifies key themes of the Review. Perhaps most significantly, the Progress Report identifies the following four capital raising prospectus exemptions it will be considering going forward: (i) crowdfunding; (ii) friends, family and business associates; (iii) offering memorandum; and (iv) a streamlined rights offering exemption and possible exemption based on a reporting issuer's continuous disclosure and existing security holder base.