Ontario Securities Act

Interpretation

“associate­­­”, ­where used to indicate a relationship with any person or company, means,

(a) any company of which such person or company beneficially owns, directly or indirectly, voting securities carrying more than 10 per cent of the voting rights attached to all voting securities of the company for the time being outstanding,

(b) any partner of that person or company,

(c) any trust or estate in which such person or company has a substantial beneficial interest or as to which such person or company serves as trustee or in a similar capacity,

(d) any relative of that person who resides in the same home as that person,

(e) any person who resides in the same home as that person and to whom that person is married or with whom that person is living in a conjugal relationship outside marriage, or

(f) any relative of a person mentioned in clause (e) who has the same home as that person;

(1) In this Act…

“benchmark” means a price, estimate, rate, index or value that is,

(a) determined, from time to time, by reference to an assessment of one or more underlying interests,

(b) made available to the public, either free of charge or on payment, and

(c) used for reference for any purpose, including,

(i) determining the interest payable, or other sums that are due, under a contract, derivative, instrument or security,

(ii) determining the value of a contract, derivative, instrument or security or the price at which it may be traded,

(iii) measuring the performance of a contract, derivative, investment fund, instrument or security, or

(iv) any other use by an investment fund;

In this Act,

“company” means any corporation, incorporated association, incorporated syndicate or other incorporated organization;

(1) In this Act…

“contractual plan” means any contract or other arrangement for the purchase of shares or units of a mutual fund by payments over a specified period or by a specified number of payments where the amount deducted from any one of the payments as sales charges is larger than the amount that would have been deducted from such payment for sales charges if deductions had been made from each payment at a constant rate for the duration of the plan;

In this Act,

“control person” means,

(a) a person or company who holds a sufficient number of the voting rights attached to all outstanding voting securities of an issuer to affect materially the control of the issuer, and, if a person or company holds more than 20 per cent of the voting rights attached to all outstanding voting securities of an issuer, the person or company is deemed, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, to hold a sufficient number of the voting rights to affect materially the control of the issuer, or

(b) each person or company in a combination of persons or companies, acting in concert by virtue of an agreement, arrangement, commitment or understanding, which holds in total a sufficient number of the voting rights attached to all outstanding voting securities of an issuer to affect materially the control of the issuer, and, if a combination of persons or companies holds more than 20 per cent of the voting rights attached to all outstanding voting securities of an issuer, the combination of persons or companies is deemed, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, to hold a sufficient number of the voting rights to affect materially the control of the issuer;

In this Act,

“distribution”, where used in relation to trading in securities, means,

(a) a trade in securities of an issuer that have not been previously issued,

(b) a trade by or on behalf of an issuer in previously issued securities of that issuer that have been redeemed or purchased by or donated to that issuer,

(c) a trade in previously issued securities of an issuer from the holdings of any control person,

(d) a trade by or on behalf of an underwriter in securities which were acquired by that underwriter, acting as underwriter, prior to the 15th day of September, 1979 if those securities continued on that date to be owned by or for that underwriter, so acting,

(e) a trade by or on behalf of an underwriter in securities which were acquired by that underwriter, acting as underwriter, within eighteen months after the 15th day of September, 1979, if the trade took place during that eighteen months, and

(f) any trade that is a distribution under the regulations,

and also includes any transaction or series of transactions involving a purchase and sale or a repurchase and resale in the course of or incidental to a distribution and “distribute”, “distributed” and “distributing” have a corresponding meaning;

In this Act,

“distribution to the public”, where used in relation to trading in securities, means a distribution that is made for the purpose of distributing to the public securities issued by an issuer, whether such trades are made directly or indirectly to the public through an underwriter or otherwise;

“economic exposure” in relation to a reporting issuer means the extent to which the economic or financial interests of a person or company are aligned with the trading price of securities of the reporting issuer or the economic or financial interests of the reporting issuer;

“economic interest in a security” means,

(a) a right to receive or the opportunity to participate in a reward, benefit or return from a security, or

(b) an exposure to a loss or a risk of loss in respect of a security;

In this Act,

“individual” means a natural person, but does not include a partnership, unincorporated association, unincorporated syndicate, unincorporated organization, trust, or a natural person in his or her capacity as trustee, executor, administrator or other legal personal representative;

“insider” means,

(a) a director or officer of a reporting issuer,

(b) a director or officer of a person or company that is itself an insider or subsidiary of a reporting issuer,

(c) a person or company that has,

(i) beneficial ownership of, or control or direction over, directly or indirectly, securities of a reporting issuer carrying more than 10 per cent of the voting rights attached to all the reporting issuer’s outstanding voting securities, excluding, for the purpose of the calculation of the percentage held, any securities held by the person or company as underwriter in the course of a distribution, or

(ii) a combination of beneficial ownership of, and control or direction over, directly or indirectly, securities of a reporting issuer carrying more than 10 per cent of the voting rights attached to all the reporting issuer’s outstanding voting securities, excluding, for the purpose of the calculation of the percentage held, any securities held by the person or company as underwriter in the course of a distribution,

(d) a reporting issuer that has purchased, redeemed or otherwise acquired a security of its own issue, for so long as it continues to hold that security,

(e) a person or company designated as an insider in an order made under subsection (11),

(f) a person or company that is in a class of persons or companies designated under subparagraph 40 v of subsection 143 (1);

(1) In this Act…

“investment fund manager” means a person or company that directs the business, operations or affairs of an investment fund;

In this Act…

“issuer” means a person or company who has outstanding, issues or proposes to issue, a security;

In this Act,

“management contract” means a contract under which an investment fund is provided with investment advice, alone or together with administrative or management services, for valuable consideration;

In this Act,

“material fact”, when used in relation to securities issued or proposed to be issued, means a fact that would reasonably be expected to have a significant effect on the market price or value of the securities;

In this Act,

“misrepresentation” means,

(a) an untrue statement of material fact, or

(b) an omission to state a material fact that is required to be stated or that is necessary to make a statement not misleading in the light of the circumstances in which it was made;

In this Act…

“mutual fund” means an issuer whose primary purpose is to invest money provided by its security holders and whose securities entitle the holder to receive on demand, or within a specified period after demand, an amount computed by reference to the value of a proportionate interest in the whole or in part of the net assets, including a separate fund or trust account, of the issuer;

Lexata note: see also the definition of “mutual fund” in s. 106(1) in the context of insider trading and self-dealing.

(1) In this Act…

“mutual fund in Ontario” means a mutual fund that is a reporting issuer or that is organized under the laws of Ontario, but does not include a private mutual fund;

In this Act,

“Ontario securities law” means,

(a) this Act,

(b) the regulations, and

(c) in respect of a person or company, a decision of the Commission or a Director to which the person or company is subject; (“droit ontarien des valeurs mobilières”)

Note: On a day to be named by proclamation of the Lieutenant Governor, clause (c) of the definition of “Ontario securities law” in subsection 1 (1) of the Act is amended by striking out “the Commission or a Director” and substituting “the Commission, the Tribunal or a Director”. (See: 2021, c. 8, Sched. 9, s. 40 (5))

(1) In this Act…

“portfolio securities,” where used in relation to a mutual fund, means securities held or proposed to be purchased by the mutual fund;

“regulations” means the regulations made under this Act and, unless the context otherwise indicates, includes the rules;

In this Act,

“related derivative” means, with respect to a security, a derivative that is related to the security because the derivative’s market price, value, delivery obligations, payment obligations or settlement obligations are, in a material way, derived from, referenced to or based on the market price, value, delivery obligations, payment obligations or settlement obligations of the security;

“related financial instrument” means an agreement, arrangement or understanding to which an insider of a reporting issuer is a party, the effect of which is to alter, directly or indirectly, the insider’s,

(a) economic interest in a security of the reporting issuer, or

(b) economic exposure to the reporting issuer;

“reporting issuer” means an issuer,

(a) that has issued voting securities on or after the 1st day of May, 1967 in respect of which a prospectus was filed and a receipt therefor obtained under a predecessor of this Act or in respect of which a securities exchange take-over bid circular was filed under a predecessor of this Act,

(b) that has filed a prospectus and for which the Director has issued a receipt under this Act,(b.1) that has filed a securities exchange take-over bid circular under this Act before December 14, 1999,

(c) any of whose securities have been at any time since the 15th day of September, 1979 listed and posted for trading on any exchange in Ontario recognized by the Commission, regardless of when such listing and posting for trading commenced,

(d) to which the Business Corporations Act applies and which, for the purposes of that Act, is offering its securities to the public,

(e) that is the company whose existence continues following the exchange of securities of a company by or for the account of such company with another company or the holders of the securities of that other company in connection with,

(i) a statutory amalgamation or arrangement, or

(ii) a statutory procedure under which one company takes title to the assets of the other company that in turn loses its existence by operation of law, or under which the existing companies merge into a new company,where one of the amalgamating or merged companies or the continuing company has been a reporting issuer for at least twelve months, or

(f) that is designated as a reporting issuer in an order made under subsection 1 (11);

In this Act,

“rules” means the rules made under section 143;

“security” includes,

(a) any document, instrument or writing commonly known as a security,

(b) any document constituting evidence of title to or interest in the capital, assets, property, profits, earnings or royalties of any person or company,

(c) any document constituting evidence of an interest in an association of legatees or heirs,

(d) any document constituting evidence of an option, subscription or other interest in or to a security,

(e) a bond, debenture, note or other evidence of indebtedness or a share, stock, unit, unit certificate, participation certificate, certificate of share or interest, preorganization certificate or subscription other than,

(i) a contract of insurance issued by an insurance company licensed under the Insurance Act, and

(ii) evidence of a deposit issued by a bank listed in Schedule I, II or III to the Bank Act (Canada), by a credit union or league to which the Credit Unions and Caisses Populaires Act, 1994 applies, by a loan corporation or trust corporation registered under the Loan and Trust Corporations Act or by an association to which the Cooperative Credit Associations Act (Canada) applies,

Note: On a day to be named by proclamation of the Lieutenant Governor, subclause (e) (ii) of the definition of “security” in subsection 1 (1) of the Act is amended by striking out “league to which the Credit Unions and Caisses Populaires Act, 1994” and substituting “central to which the Credit Unions and Caisses Populaires Act, 2020“. (See: 2020, c. 36, Sched. 7, s. 336 (1))

(f) any agreement under which the interest of the purchaser is valued for purposes of conversion or surrender by reference to the value of a proportionate interest in a specified portfolio of assets, except a contract issued by an insurance company licensed under the Insurance Act which provides for payment at maturity of an amount not less than three quarters of the premiums paid by the purchaser for a benefit payable at maturity,

(g) any agreement providing that money received will be repaid or treated as a subscription to shares, stock, units or interests at the option of the recipient or of any person or company,

(h) any certificate of share or interest in a trust, estate or association,

(i) any profit-sharing agreement or certificate,

(j) any certificate of interest in an oil, natural gas or mining lease, claim or royalty voting trust certificate,

(k) any oil or natural gas royalties or leases or fractional or other interest therein,

(l) any collateral trust certificate,

(m) any income or annuity contract not issued by an insurance company,

(n) any investment contract,

(o) any document constituting evidence of an interest in a scholarship or educational plan or trust, and

(p) any commodity futures contract or any commodity futures option that is not traded on a commodity futures exchange registered with or recognized by the Commission under the Commodity Futures Act or the form of which is not accepted by the Director under that Act,

whether any of the foregoing relate to an issuer or proposed issuer;

“trade” or “trading” includes,

(a) any sale or disposition of a security for valuable consideration, whether the terms of payment be on margin, instalment or otherwise, but does not include a purchase of a security or, except as provided in clause (d), a transfer, pledge or encumbrance of securities for the purpose of giving collateral for a debt made in good faith,

(b) any participation as a trader in any transaction in a security through the facilities of any exchange or quotation and trade reporting system,

(b.1) entering into a derivative or making a material amendment to, terminating, assigning, selling or otherwise acquiring or disposing of a derivative, or

(b.2) a novation of a derivative, other than a novation with a clearing agency,

(c) any receipt by a registrant of an order to buy or sell a security,

(d) any transfer, pledge or encumbrancing of securities of an issuer from the holdings of any person or company or combination of persons or companies described in clause (c) of the definition of “distribution” for the purpose of giving collateral for a debt made in good faith, and

(e) any act, advertisement, solicitation, conduct or negotiation directly or indirectly in furtherance of any of the foregoing;

“trade” or “trading” includes,

(a) any sale or disposition of a security for valuable consideration, whether the terms of payment be on margin, instalment or otherwise, but does not include a purchase of a security or, except as provided in clause (d), a transfer, pledge or encumbrance of securities for the purpose of giving collateral for a debt made in good faith,

(b) any participation as a trader in any transaction in a security through the facilities of any exchange or quotation and trade reporting system,

(b.1) entering into a derivative or making a material amendment to, terminating, assigning, selling or otherwise acquiring or disposing of a derivative, or

(b.2) a novation of a derivative, other than a novation with a clearing agency,

(c) any receipt by a registrant of an order to buy or sell a security,

(d) any transfer, pledge or encumbrancing of securities of an issuer from the holdings of any person or company or combination of persons or companies described in clause (c) of the definition of “distribution” for the purpose of giving collateral for a debt made in good faith, and

(e) any act, advertisement, solicitation, conduct or negotiation directly or indirectly in furtherance of any of the foregoing;

In this Act,

“underwriter” means a person or company who, as principal, agrees to purchase securities with a view to distribution or who, as agent, offers for sale or sells securities in connection with a distribution and includes a person or company who has a direct or indirect participation in any such distribution, but does not include,

(a) a person or company whose interest in the transaction is limited to receiving the usual and customary distributor’s or seller’s commission payable by an underwriter or issuer,

(b) a mutual fund that, under the laws of the jurisdiction to which it is subject, accepts its shares or units for surrender and resells them,

(c) a company that, under the laws of the jurisdiction to which it is subject, purchases its shares and resells them, or

(d) a bank listed in Schedule I, II or III to the Bank Act (Canada) with respect to securities described in paragraph 1 of subsection 35 (2) or to such banking transactions as are designated by the regulations;

“voting security” means any security other than a debt security of an issuer carrying a voting right either under all circumstances or under some circumstances that have occurred and are continuing.