Canadian securities regulators reduce regulatory burden related to business acquisition reports

Vancouver and Montreal – The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) today published amendments to the business acquisition report (BAR) requirements for reporting issuers that are not venture issuers.

The amendments aim to reduce regulatory burden and address certain concerns expressed by stakeholders.

“The amendments narrow the circumstances under which a BAR must be filed to transactions that are the most relevant to investors’ decision-making,” said Louis Morisset, CSA Chair and President and Chief Executive Officer of the Autorité des marchés financiers. “These changes reflect the CSA’s drive to streamline regulation without compromising investor protection.”

For reporting issuers that are not venture issuers, the amendments will change the criteria for determining whether a completed acquisition is significant, based on three tests set out in National Instrument 51-102 Continuous Disclosure Obligations (NI 51-102). The amendments:

  • require that at least two of the three existing significance tests in NI 51-102 are triggered (previously, only one test had to be triggered)
  • increase the significance threshold in those tests from 20 per cent to 30 per cent.

The amendments are being adopted following an extensive consultation process, including comment letters and other stakeholder feedback, as well as consideration of historical data on past BAR filings and exemptive relief granted to assess the impact of the amendments.

Provided all necessary ministerial approvals are obtained, the amendments are effective on November 18, 2020.  

The amendments and related changes to certain companion policies can be found on CSA members’ websites.

The CSA, the council of the securities regulators of Canada’s provinces and territories, co-ordinates and harmonizes regulation for the Canadian capital markets.

For Investor inquiries, please refer to your respective securities regulator. You can contact them here

For media inquiries, please refer to the list of provincial and territorial representatives below or contact us at media@acvm-csa.ca:

Kristen Rose
Ontario Securities Commission
416-593-2336

Sylvain Théberge
Autorité des marchés financiers
514-940-2176

Brian Kladko
British Columbia Securities Commission
(604) 899-6713

Hilary McMeekin
Alberta Securities Commission
403-592-8186

Jason (Jay) Booth
Manitoba Securities Commission
204-945-1660

Shannon McMillan
Financial and Consumer Affairs
Authority of Saskatchewan
306-798-4160

David Harrison
Nova Scotia Securities Commission
902-424-8586

Steve Dowling
Office of the Superintendent of Securities,
Department of Justice and Public Safety,
Prince Edward Island
902-368-4550

Renée Dyer
Office of the Superintendent
of Securities,
Newfoundland and Labrador
709-729-4909

Rhonda Horte
Office of the Yukon Superintendent
of Securities
867-667-5466

Jeff Mason
Nunavut Securities Office
867-975-6591

Tom Hall
Office of the Superintendent
of Securities
Northwest Territories
(867) 767-9305