Canadian Continuous Disclosure Obligations Revamped

Canadian securities regulators recently adopted National Instrument 51-102, Continuous Disclosure Obligations, which changes some of the continuous disclosure obligations of companies that are reporting issuers in Canada and makes the continuous disclosure obligations uniform in all Canadian provinces and territories. Compliance dates vary, but many important changes take effect for interim filings for the first quarter of 2004. Canadian cross-border issuers should also read our supplement no. 2004-9TS, Continuous Disclosure Obligations: Relief Granted to Canadian Cross-Border Issuers, dated February 18, 2004. The major changes to the continuous disclosure obligations of Canadian issuers are summarized below.