(1) A manager may not proceed with a proposed action under section 5.1 without the approval of the independent review committee if the action is
(a) an inter-fund trade as described in subsection 6.1(2) of this Instrument or a transaction as described in subsection 4.2(1) of National Instrument 81-102 Investment Funds;
(b) a transaction in securities of an issuer as described in subsection 6.2(1) of this Instrument;
(c) an investment in a class of securities of an issuer underwritten by an entity related to the manager as described in subsection 4.1(1) of National Instrument 81-102 Investment Funds; or
(d) a transaction in which an investment fund intends to borrow cash from a person or company that is an associate or affiliate of the investment fund manager.
(2) An independent review committee must not approve an action unless it has determined, after reasonable inquiry, that the action
(a) is proposed by the manager free from any influence by an entity related to the manager and without taking into account any consideration relevant to an entity related to the manager;
(b) represents the business judgment of the manager uninfluenced by considerations other than the best interests of the investment fund;
(c) is in compliance with the manager’s written policies and procedures relating to the action; and
(d) achieves a fair and reasonable result for the investment fund.
Commentary
1. For the transactions described in subsection (1), provided the manager receives the IRC’s approval under this section, and satisfies the additional conditions imposed under the applicable sections of Part 6 of this Instrument or Part 2 and Part 4 of NI 81-102, the manager will be permitted to proceed with the action without obtaining regulatory exemptive relief.
The IRC may give its approval for certain actions or categories of actions in the form of a standing instruction as described in section 5.4. If no standing instruction is in effect, the manager is required to seek the IRC’s approval prior to proceeding with any action set out in subsection (1). An IRC may consider as guidance any conditions in prior exemptive relief orders, waivers or approvals obtained from the securities regulatory authorities when contemplating the appropriate terms and conditions in its approval.
2. If the IRC does not approve a proposed action described in subsection (1), the manager is not permitted to proceed without obtaining exemptive relief from the securities regulatory authorities. The CSA consider it in the best interests of the investment fund, and ultimately investors, for the IRC to be able to stop any proposed action which does not meet the test in subsection (2).
3. The CSA would usually expect that, before the IRC approves a proposed action described in subsection (1), it will have requested from the manager or others a report or certification to assist in its determination that the test in subsection (2) has been met.
4. The CSA expect that the manager will discuss with the IRC any instance where the IRC does not approve a proposed action, so that an alternative action satisfactory to both the manager and the IRC can be found, if possible.
5. The CSA consider that the ability of the manager to seek the removal of a member or members of the IRC under paragraph 3.10(2)(d) sufficiently addresses any concern that a manager may have about an IRC’s ongoing refusal to approve matters.