Securities regulators propose reduced periodic disclosure requirements for Canadian public companies

On May 20, 2020, the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) published for comment Proposed Amendments to National Instrument 51-102 Continuous Disclosure Obligations and other Amendments and Changes (the Proposed Amendments), a set of reform proposals aimed at reducing and streamlining the annual and quarterly reporting obligations set out in National Instrument 51-102 Continuous Disclosure Obligations (NI 51-102) and increasing reporting efficiency for reporting issuers, other than investment funds. 

The Proposed Amendments follow a 2017 consultation paper, in response to which many capital markets participants supported examining how to reduce the volume of information presented in annual and interim filings.

The Proposed Amendments would change the existing continuous disclosure regime in three main ways: 

1. Combine the annual financial statements, management discussion and analysis (MD&A) and annual information form (AIF) into an “annual disclosure statement”, while quarterly financials and MD&A would be combined into an “interim disclosure statement”
2. Streamline and clarify certain disclosure requirements set out in the current form of the MD&A and AIF
3. Introduce new measures to address gaps identified in the current disclosure framework regime

The Proposed Amendments also include requests for comment on a number of specific aspects of the proposed changes. The public comment period will remain open until September 17, 2021. Click here to read more.