On March 1, 2022, the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) made an order extending the blanket relief issued in February 2021 that provides an exemption from underwriting conflicts disclosure requirements for foreign private placements.

Specifically, under the exemption, the disclosure requirements found in National Instrument 33-105 Underwriting Conflicts do not apply where (i) the distribution is exempt from the prospectus requirement; (ii) the distribution is of an eligible foreign security; and (iii) each purchaser in Ontario is a permitted client.

The blanket relief, which was set to expire on August 17, 2022, has now been extended to February 17, 2024. Alberta and British Columbia also have exemptions in place.

For more information, see OSC Rule 33-508 Extension to Ontario Instrument 33-507 Exemption from Underwriting Conflict Disclosure Requirements.