The Ontario Securities Commission has released a broad consultation paper, OSC Staff Consultation Paper 45-710 Considerations for New Capital Raising Prospectus Exemptions, which explores four “concept ideas” relating to new prospectus exemptions in Canada. This includes the OSC’s preliminary thoughts about crowdfunding.
The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) have been engaged for some time in a review of the most commonly used prospectus exemptions for private placements in Canada (see Blakes Bulletin on Securities Regulation: Private Placement Exemption Criteria To Be Reviewed, November 2011). This latest paper from the OSC represents a broadening of consultation in this area, showing that the Canadian regulators are thoroughly examining how to foster greater access by start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to capital markets, as well as possibilities to provide investors with more access to investment opportunities through the increasingly important exempt market. It is notable that this consultation is an OSC initiative rather than a broader CSA effort, so results may not be harmonized.
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