On February 15, 2019, the Ontario Securities Commission issued a decision in which it refused to issue a receipt for a prospectus filing made by 3iQ Corp. (3iQ) in respect of The Bitcoin Fund (the Fund). The
OSC
Ontario Securities Commission awards whistleblowers $7.5 million in first ever payout
On July 14, 2016, the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) launched the Whistleblower Program (the Program). Under the Program, individuals that provide information on violations of Ontario’s securities law to the OSC are eligible for awards of between…
Re Meharchand: An affirmation of fundamental securities law principles
On October 19, 2018, the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) issued reasons for Re Meharchand, a case confirming core concepts in securities law including the definition of an “investment contract”, registration when in the business of selling securities,…
Ontario Court of Appeal Grants Leave to Appeal Tiffin Decision: Will Determine Role of the “Family Resemblance” Test in Defining Securities under the Securities Act
It seems that the saga of the Ontario Securities Commission’s prosecution of Daniel Emerson Tiffin and Tiffin Financial Corporation is not over yet. On November 28, 2018 (2018 ONCA 953), the Ontario Court of Appeal granted leave to…
Crime Doesn’t Pay: OSC Permanently Bans Convicted Fraudster
On November 26, 2018, the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) issued an order permanently prohibiting Daniel Reeve, a financial planner based in the Kitchener, Ontario area, from participation in Ontario’s capital markets, including trading in any securities and becoming…
Divisional Court Upholds OSC Finding that Trading Software License Contracts are Securities Within Meaning of Securities Act
The Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Furtak v Ontario (Securities Commission), 2018 ONSC 6616, has upheld the Ontario Securities Commission’s (OSC) merits and sanctions decisions with respect to the Strictrade Offering, which we previously reported…
Motions for Further Disclosure in OSC Proceedings: Privilege, Relevance and Proportionality
In a recent decision of the OSC in Re Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. (October 12, 2018), a hearing panel (the “Panel”) denied a motion by Caldwell Investment Management Inc. (“Caldwell”) for further pre-hearing disclosure from OSC Staff. The motion…
Ontario Court Imposes Custodial Sentence for Securities Act Offences
The Ontario Superior Court of Justice has released what appears to be the final chapter in the Ontario Securities Commission’s (OSC) prosecution of Daniel Emerson Tiffin and Tiffin Financial Corporation.
Background
In July 2014, the Ontario Securities Commission’s…
Ontario Securities Commission confirms test for severance
In a decision issued on July 24, 2018, the Ontario Securities Commission held that the test to determine whether a respondent’s case should be severed and heard separately is the same test used in criminal proceedings.
The decision, Hutchinson (Re)…
Ontario Court Rejects “Family Resemblance” Test for Defining Securities under the Securities Act
On May 15, 2018, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Ontario Securities Commission v. Tiffin confirmed that the “family resemblance” test cannot be used to answer one of the central questions of securities law: what constitutes a security?
Background…