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NATIONAL INSTRUMENT 41-101
PROSPECTUS DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PART TITLE
PART 1 APPLICATION AND INTERPRETATION
1.1 Application
1.2 Preliminary Prospectus
1.3 Variations
PART 2 FRONT PAGE DISCLOSURE
2.1 Prospectus Warning and Disclaimer Clause
2.2 Preliminary Prospectus Disclosure
PART 3 PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION DISCLOSURE
3.1 Plan of Distribution Disclosure
PART 4 PURCHASERS' STATUTORY RIGHTS
4.1 Purchasers' Statutory Rights
PART 5 EXEMPTION
5.1 Exemption
5.2 Evidence of Exemption
NATIONAL INSTRUMENT 41-101
PROSPECTUS DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS(1),(2)
PART 1 APPLICATION AND INTERPRETATION
1.1 Application - Except as otherwise provided in securities legislation,(3)
this Instrument applies to a preliminary prospectus and a prospectus
used to distribute a security in a local jurisdiction.(4)
1.2 Preliminary Prospectus - The statements required by this Rule to be
included in a prospectus shall also be included in a preliminary
prospectus.
1.3 Variations - The statements required by this Rule to be included in
a preliminary prospectus or a prospectus may be modified to reflect
the terms and conditions of a distribution.
PART 2 FRONT PAGE DISCLOSURE
2.1 Prospectus Warning(5) and Disclaimer Clause(6) - The following
statement shall be included in italics(7) at the top of the front page of a
prospectus:
"The securities described in this prospectus may only
be distributed where it is legal to sell them, by people
who are legally permitted to sell them. No securities
regulatory authority(8) has expressed an opinion about
these securities and it is an offence to claim otherwise."
2.2 Preliminary Prospectus Disclosure - The following legend shall be
included in red ink on the left hand side of the front page of a
preliminary prospectus:
"This preliminary prospectus relating to the securities
described in it has been filed in [each of/certain of] the
[provinces/provinces and territories of Canada] but has
not yet become final for the purpose of a distribution.
Information contained in this preliminary prospectus
may not be complete and may have to be amended.
The securities may not be distributed until a receipt is
obtained for the prospectus."
PART 3 PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION DISCLOSURE
3.1 Plan of Distribution Disclosure - If securities are distributed under
a prospectus by an underwriter that has agreed to purchase a
specified number or principal amount of the securities at a specified
price and the underwriter's obligations are subject to conditions, the
following statements shall be included in the prospectus:
(1) On the front page of the prospectus:
"We, as principals, conditionally offer these securities(9), subject
to prior sale, if, as and when issued by [issuer] and accepted
by us in accordance with the conditions contained in the
underwriting agreement referred to under Plan of Distribution."
(2) In the section of the prospectus that describes the plan of
distribution of the securities:
"Under an agreement dated [insert date of agreement]
between [issuer] and [insert name of underwriter[s]] as
underwriter[s], [issuer] has agreed to sell and the
underwriter[s] [has/have] agreed to purchase on [insert closing
date] the securities at a price of [insert offering price] payable
in cash to [issuer] against delivery. The obligations of the
underwriter[s] under the agreement may be terminated at
[its/their] discretion on the basis of [its/their] assessment of the
state of the financial markets and may also be terminated upon
the occurrence of certain stated events. The underwriter[s]
[is/are], however, obligated to take up and pay for all the
securities if any of the securities are purchased under the
agreement."
PART 4 PURCHASERS' STATUTORY RIGHTS
4.1 Purchasers' Statutory Rights - A statement in substantially the
following form shall appear in a prospectus:
"Securities legislation in [certain of the provinces [and
territories] of Canada/the Province of [insert name of local
jurisdiction, if applicable] provides purchasers with the right to
withdraw from an agreement to purchase securities within two
business days after receipt or deemed receipt of a prospectus
and any amendment. [In several of the provinces/provinces
and territories], [T/t]he securities legislation further provides a
purchaser with remedies for rescission [or [, in some
jurisdictions,] damages] if the prospectus and any amendment
contains a misrepresentation or is not delivered to the
purchaser, provided that the remedies for rescission [or
damages] are exercised by the purchaser within the time limit
prescribed by the securities legislation of the purchaser's
province [or territory]. The purchaser should refer to any
applicable provisions of the securities legislation of the
purchaser's province [or territory] for the particulars of these
rights or consult with a legal adviser."
PART 5 EXEMPTION
5.1 Exemption
(A) The regulator(10) or the securities regulatory authority may grant
an exemption to this Instrument, in whole or in part, subject to
such conditions or restrictions as may be imposed in the
exemption.
(B) Despite subsection (1), in Ontario, only the regulator may
grant such an exemption.
5.2 Evidence of Exemption - Without limiting the manner in which an
exemption under section 5.1 may be evidenced, the issuance by the
regulator of a receipt for a prospectus or an amendment to a
prospectus is evidence of the granting of the exemption if
(a) the person or company that sought the exemption has
delivered to the regulator on or before the date that the
preliminary prospectus was filed, a letter or memorandum
describing the matters relating to the exemption, and indicating
why consideration should be given to the granting of the
exemption; and
(b) the regulator has not sent written notice to the contrary to the
person or company that sought the exemption before the
issuance of the receipt.
1 This Instrument is based on National Policy Statement Nos. 12, 13, 32 and 35. The proposed National Instrument
is expected to be adopted as a rule in each of British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario, as a Commission regulation in
Saskatchewan and as a policy in all other jurisdictions represented by the CSA.
2 A national definition instrument has been adopted as National Instrument 14-101 Definitions. It contains definitions
of certain terms used in more than one national instrument. National Instrument 14-101 also provides that a term
used in a national instrument and defined in the statute relating to securities of the applicable jurisdiction, the
definition of which is not restricted to a specific portion of the statute, will have the meaning given to it in that statute,
unless the context otherwise requires. National Instrument 14-101 also provides that a provision or a reference
within a provision of a national instrument that specifically refers by name to a jurisdiction, other than the local
jurisdiction, shall not have any effect in the local jurisdiction, unless otherwise stated in the provision.
3 The term "securities legislation" is defined in National Instrument 14-101 Definitions as meaning the particular
statute and legislative instruments of the local jurisdiction set out in an appendix to that instrument and will generally
include the statute, regulations and, in some cases, the rules, forms, rulings and orders relating to securities in the
local jurisdiction.
4 The term "local jurisdiction" is defined in National Instrument 14-101 Definitions. The definition is "in a national
instrument adopted or made by a Canadian securities regulatory authority, the jurisdiction in which the Canadian
securities regulatory authority is situate". The term "Canadian securities regulatory authorities" is defined in National
Instrument 14-101 Definitions as meaning the securities commissions or similar regulatory authorities set out in an
appendix to that instrument.
5 NP 32 currently is limited in its application to offerings in more than one province of Canada. There does not appear
to be any policy rationale for this result. Accordingly, in the reformatted instrument, the disclosure requirement
applies in all cases.
6 As the accepted practice is to have the language required by NP 13 appear at the top of the first page following the
language prescribed by NP 32, the two provisions have been collapsed into this section, which applies in all cases.
7 Neither NP 32 nor NP 13 currently requires that the prescribed language be printed in italics. As it is accepted
practice to use italics, this has been made an express requirement. NP 13 suggests that the disclaimer clause
should be printed in capital letters. As this practice is generally not followed, the required disclosure appears in the
normal upper and lower case format.
8 The term "securities regulatory authority" is defined in National Instrument 14-101 Definitions as meaning, for a local
jurisdiction, the securities commission or similar regulatory authority set out in an appendix to that instrument
opposite the name of the local jurisdiction.
9 Reference to "Debentures" in NP 12 has been deleted as the disclosure applies to all securities. The price of the
securities has been left blank, unlike the current language of NP 12.
10 The term "regulator" is defined in National Instrument 14-101 Definitions as meaning, in a local jurisdiction, the
person set out in an appendix to that instrument opposite the name of the local jurisdiction.
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