The regulation of market manipulation, and activist short
selling in particular, has been at the forefront of recent efforts
to modernize the Canadian securities landscape. In late 2020, the
Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) released a consultation
paper to solicit the public's views about activist short
selling and its potential impact on Canadian capital markets.
Shortly after that, in early 2021, the Ontario Capital Markets
Modernization Taskforce (the Taskforce) released a report in
support of regulatory reform which included recommendations for
increased regulation of short selling.1 The CSA and
the Taskforce were both focused on finding a balance between
fostering efficient and innovative capital markets while still
ensuring investor protection. Recognizing the need to achieve this
goal, the Government of Ontario published draft legislation for the
new Capital Markets Act (the Draft
CMA).2 The Draft CMA was released for comment on
October 12, 2021, and