On May 14, 2015, the securities regulatory authorities of
British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Quebec, New Brunswick and
Nova Scotia adopted, through local blanket decisions, substantially
harmonized start-up crowdfunding prospectus and registration
exemptions (the "Start-Up Exemption").
The Start-Up Exemption is aimed at non-reporting issuers which are
at a very early stage of development. It should be noted that the
more elaborate "Crowdfunding Prospectus Exemption"
proposed in March 2014 and aimed at more developed issuers has not
been adopted at this time and is still under consideration by
various Canadian securities regulators.
The Start-Up Exemption will allow an issuer to raise up to
$250,000 twice during a given calendar year through the issuance of
equity (common shares and non-convertible preference shares),
securities convertible into equity, non-convertible debt securities
linked to a fixed or floating interest rate and units of limited
partnership.
