At the time of this publication, there is an ongoing postal strike across Canada. Various regulators have issued statements or other guidance, reminding market participants that securities law contains various requirements with respect to the filing of documents with regulators and the delivery of documents to security holders. As an example, the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) has stated that registrants must make reasonable efforts to meet their obligations to clients with respect to trade confirmations and delivery of other client documentation, and that information required to be filed with the commission should be delivered (via courier, for example), or faxed (yes, they still exist).
The OSC has also indicated that to the extent an application for relief from the delivery requirements is needed, they would attempt to deal with the applications as quickly as possible in urgent circumstances.
The Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization has also indicated via bulletin that its dealer members must ensure that document delivery requirements continue to be met. CIRO suggests that dealers take a number of actions, including providing clients with alternative methods to receive trade confirmations and account statements.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
