Amendments to the TSX Company Manual pertaining to the requirements for evidence of security ownership have been adopted by the TSX and approved by the OSC. The amendments reflect the decrease in the use of physical share certificates in favour of electronic book-keeping. The amendments, which are categorized as "housekeeping amendments" which do not require publication for comment, are made to Parts I, III, IV and VI and Appendix D of the TSX Company Manual, among other areas.
The most significant amendments are made to Appendix D to the TSX Company Manual which sets out the TSX's requirements for issuers in respect of providing security holders with evidence of security ownership. These amendments reflect the following additional forms of evidence of security ownership: certificated and uncertificated book-entry only services agreements with CDS; non-certificated inventory in which the listed securities are held by registered owners through a CDS approved transfer agent; and the direct registration system which allows listed securities to be held in electronic form with no physical security certificate. A second key amendment was made to Section 347 of the TSX Company Manual which provides that a TSX listed issuer may appoint a transfer agent and registrar with a principal office in any of Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal or Halifax, in addition to Toronto.
For complete details on all of the amendments to the TSX Company Manual, please consult the TSX Notice of Housekeeping Rule Amendments (May 21, 2015).
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