The Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) yesterday published proposed guidance related to marking orders entered on behalf of insiders and significant shareholders. Specifically, the proposal, intended to vary current guidance, would require all insider orders be marked with the Regulation ID Order Marker irrespective of whether any resulting trade would be subject to insider reporting requirements under applicable securities legislation.

Currently, the need to mark an order as "insider" is correlated to the requirements of NI 55-104 Insider Reporting Requirements and Exemptions in that the requirement generally only applies to orders of reporting insiders not otherwise exempted from reporting obligations in respect of a particular transaction. According to IIROC, the broader application of the marking requirements will improve IIROC's ability to assist in the detection of insider trading violations.

IIROC is accepting comments on the proposed guidance until November 21, 2011. For more information, see IIROC Notice 11-0269. For a background on last year's changes to Canada's insider reporting requirements, see our update of April 21, 2010.

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