Update on Proposed Multilateral Instrument 52-111 – Reporting on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

On March 10, 2006, the Canadian Securities Administrators (the "CSA") announced, after extensive review and consultation, and in view of the debate ongoing in the United States in respect of the rules implementing section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the "Sox 404 Rules"), that they have determined not to proceed with proposed Multilateral Instrument 52-111 - Reporting on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting ("Proposed MI 52-111"). Proposed MI 52-111, originally published for comment in February 2005, was substantially similar to the Sox 404 Rules and would have required, among other things, management of an issuer to evaluate the effectiveness of the issuer’s internal control over financial reporting, as at the end of the issuer’s financial year, against a suitable control framework, and the filing by the issuer of: (i) a report of management on its assessment of the effectiveness of the issuer’s internal control over financial reporting, including a statement whether