Canadian Securities Regulators Re-Propose

Canadian securities regulators have proposed rule changes that would permit reporting issuers to make their information circulars available on a website without having to mail hard copies to shareholders. Notice-and-access, as the procedure is known, was originally proposed last year and is being re-proposed with various modifications to reflect comments the regulators received from market participants. The most significant change from the 2010 proposal is that notice-and-access would be permitted not just for annual meetings but also for special meetings. This is meant to reduce potential confusion among securityholders, maximize efficiency and avoid the implication that annual meetings are less important than special meetings. The main features of notice-and-access are summarized below, as are the other proposed changes to National Instrument 54-101, Communication with Beneficial Owners of Securities of a Reporting Issuer, and National Instrument 51-102, Continuous