OSC Extends Temporary Changes to Service Commitments for Prospectus and Other Filings and Announces Updated Service Commitments

Stikeman Elliott LLP
Contact
LinkedIn
Facebook
X
Send
Embed

Stikeman Elliott LLP

As part of its annual review, the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) conducted a comprehensive evaluation of its service commitments, including the temporary changes announced on December 7, 2021.

Extension of Temporary Service Commitments

The temporary service commitment changes that were announced by the OSC on December 7, 2021, and generally related to prospectus filings and applications for exemptive relief, have been extended to March 31, 2023, with the exception of service standard 3.9 Prospectus Amendments: Completion of Review, which has returned to the original 40 working day timeline that was in effect prior to December 7, 2021.

The OSC previously cited the extraordinary growth in Ontario’s capital markets as the reason for the temporary extensions which were originally scheduled to end on June 30, 2022.

Updated Service Commitments

In addition to extending the temporary service commitments, the OSC announced changes to the following service standards, among others, effective July 1, 2022:

General questions or complaints

Commitment

Previous Timeline

Updated Timeline

Response to written inquires or complaints received by e-mail, mail, fax, or online form

Within 3 working days (target is 95% of all written inquiries and complaints received)

Within 5 working days (target is 95% of all written inquiries and complaints received)

Prospectus: Filing for a confidential prospectus pre-file, preliminary or pro forma

Commitment

Previous Timeline

Updated Timeline

Issuing comment letters for confidential prospectus pre-file, long form prospectus or simplified prospectus

Comment letter within 15 working days of the date of the preliminary receipt (for preliminary filings) and related materials in acceptable form (target is for 80% or more of all filings received)

Comment letter within 15 days of the date of the preliminary receipt (for preliminary filings) or acknowledgement of receipt (confidential prospectus pre-file) and related materials in acceptable form (target is for 85% or more of all filings received)

Prospectus Amendments: Filing an amendment to a preliminary or current prospectus

When filing an amendment to a prospectus after a final receipt has been issued by the OSC:

Commitment

Previous Timeline

Updated Timeline

Comment letter for long form prospectus or simplified prospectus

3 working days after the date that related materials are received in acceptable form (target is for 80% or more of all filings received)

5 working days after the date that related materials are received in acceptable form (target is for 85% or more of all filings received)

Comment letter for short form prospectus or shelf prospectus

2 working days after the date that related materials are received in acceptable form (target is for 80% or more of all filings received)

5 working days after the date that related materials are received in acceptable form (target is for 85% or more of all filings received)

Providing decisions on amendment filings - Completion of Review

Within 45 working days of the issuance of a receipt (for the preliminary filings) and receipt of related materials in acceptable form (target is for 80% or more of all routine filings received)

Within 40 working days of the issuance of a receipt (for the preliminary filings) and receipt of related materials in acceptable form (target is for 85% or more of all routine filings received)

As has previously been the case, novel and complex filings will not be subject to set timelines and will take longer for the OSC to review. However, the OSC has committed to providing regular touchpoints to advise with respect to progress.

Finally, in some cases, the service commitment timeline has not been extended but rather the proportion of filings that the OSC will aim to review within the set out timeline has been increased. Such changes were made in addition to the changes referenced above. For instance, the OSC previously targeted meeting its applicable service commitment for 80% of comment letters for short form prospectuses or shelf prospectuses. This target has now been increased to 90% in each case.

For further information, please see the OSC’s updated Service Commitment

Send Print Report

DISCLAIMER: Because of the generality of this update, the information provided herein may not be applicable in all situations and should not be acted upon without specific legal advice based on particular situations.

© Stikeman Elliott LLP | Attorney Advertising

Written by:

Stikeman Elliott LLP
Stikeman Elliott LLP
Contact
more
less

Stikeman Elliott LLP on:

Reporters on Deadline

"My best business intelligence, in one easy email…"

Your first step to building a free, personalized, morning email brief covering pertinent authors and topics on JD Supra:
Sign Up Log in
*By using the service, you signify your acceptance of JD Supra's Privacy Policy.
Custom Email Digest
- hide
- hide