In light of the rapidly evolving developments relating to COVID-19, and recognizing that issuers have an urgent need to focus on critical business decisions, the Canadian Securities Administrators (the “CSA”) have announced that they will grant temporary, blanket relief from the filing of certain documents required to be filed on or before June 1, 2020.

Blanket Relief

The blanket relief will provide a 45-day extension for periodic filings normally required to be made by issuers, investment funds, registrants, certain regulated entities and designated rating organizations, including financial statements, management’s discussion and analysis, management reports of fund performance, annual information forms, technical reports, and certain other filings.

Issuers that rely on this blanket relief will have to comply with certain conditions, which will be announced soon, and will not need to file applications for the management cease trade orders initially suggested by the CSA over the last several days as the inevitability of delayed filings became apparent.

Virtual Securityholder Meetings

The CSA also noted that they are supportive of measures issuers are taking to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 transmission, including holding virtual securityholder meetings to promote social distancing, and promised to publish guidance on making changes to annual general meetings as soon as possible.

Adapting to Volatile Changes

The needs of reporting issuers are changing rapidly as the effects of COVID-19 reverberate through the markets and the economy. Clearly, the CSA are taking great efforts to adapt their response while fulfilling their respective mandates. We will provide further updates to this post as the CSA publish further details about the blanket relief.

If you have any questions about the extension of the filing deadline or changes to your upcoming annual general meeting, please contact any member of our Corporate Finance & Securities Group.