Canadian Securities Regulators Moving Forward With Access Model for Delivery of Continuous Disclosure Documents
On November 19, 2024, the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) announced they are moving forward with the previously announced access model (the "Access Model”) for non-investment fund reporting issuers to deliver annual financial statements, interim financial reports, and related management's discussion & analysis ("Continuous Disclosure Documents”) by providing electronic access to the documents rather than delivering them directly to investors. The CSA has made certain material changes to its original draft regulations and has republished the proposed Access Model for an additional 90-day public comment period.
Background
On April 7, 2022, the CSA published proposed regulations for the Access Model, the details of which can be found in our Update, Canadian Securities Administrators Publish Proposed Access Equals Delivery Model. This original Access Model covered both prospectuses and Continuous Disclosure Documents. The Access Model for prospectuses was strongly supported by market participants and was implemented in January of 2024, the details of which can be found in our Update, Canadian Securities Administrators Announce Implementation of the Access Model for Prospectuses. At that time, the CSA decided to continue to review the appropriate parameters of an Access Model for Continuous Disclosure Documents.
Access Model for Continuous Disclosure Documents
The CSA has now published an updated version of the Access Model for Continuous Disclosure Documents of non-investment fund reporting issuers. The core features of the Access Model remain unchanged. Non-investment fund reporting issuers will have the option to deliver Continuous Disclosure Documents by filing them on SEDAR+ and, on the same day, issuing and filing a news release indicating, among other things, that the Continuous Disclosure Document is available electronically through SEDAR+. The updated Access Model includes additional requirements intended to ensure investors receive advance notice that an issuer intends to use the Access Model and prompt notice of the filing of individual Continuous Disclosure Documents. The CSA is republishing the updated Access Model for public comment because it considers the changes made since the initial version to be material. The public comment period will end on February 17, 2025.
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