SEC Filing Deadlines for Canadian Issuers

During the current coronavirus crisis, the SEC has issued an Order providing filing extensions that apply to Canadian issuers. The following is a summary of the SEC’s new filing requirements. Form 40-F For Canadian issuers eligible to file their SEC annual report on Form 40-F under the Canada-U.S. Multi-jurisdictional Disclosure System (“MJDS”), Form 40-F continues...

Stranded Canadians Taxed in the Time of Covid-19

As Covid-19 continues to spread, many countries, including the United States and Canada, are increasingly closing their borders in an attempt to slow the rate of infection. This precaution may, however, have unintended tax consequences for Canadians who find themselves stranded on the U.S. side of the border for the duration of the shutdown. Under...

SEC Issues Guidance on COVID-19 Disclosures and Other Matters

On March 25, the SEC issued CF Disclosure Guidance Topic No. 9 that provides the Division of Corporation Finance’s current views regarding disclosure and other securities law obligations that companies should consider with respect to COVID-19 and related business and market disruptions. In the guidance, the SEC recognizes that it may be difficult to assess...

New SEC Proposed Amendments Seek to Improve and Harmonize Private Offering Exemptions

On March 4, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) proposed amendments to the private offering exemptive framework under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) to “simplify, harmonize, and improve certain aspects of the framework” with the goal of promoting capital formation while maintaining investor protections. The current private offering...

20-F and 40-F Filers Don’t Get Many of the Benefits of the Amended Accelerated Filer Definition

For Form 10-K filers, the SEC’s March 12 amendments to the “accelerated filer” definition made sense and helped better coordinate the “smaller reporting company” definition with the “accelerated filer” definition. The amendments would, in part, exclude from the definition of “accelerated filer” and “large accelerated filer” issuers that are eligible to be a smaller reporting...

SEC Seeks to Encourage Registered Debt Offerings by Amending Financial Statement Requirements

On March 2, the Securities and Exchange Commission adopted amendments to the financial disclosure requirements applicable to registered debt offerings that include credit enhancements, such as subsidiary guarantees. The final amendments amend Rule 3-10 of Regulation S-X and partially relocate its provisions to new Rule 13-01 and completely relocate Rule 3-16 into new Rule 13-02...

SEC Reminds Companies of Disclosure Obligations Relating to Coronavirus

In connection with the order issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 4 providing filing relief for companies that are affected by the coronavirus, the Commission reminded all companies to be vigilant regarding their disclosure obligations related to the evolving coronavirus scenario. A company’s assessment of, and plans for addressing, material risks to...

New Disclosure Requirements for OTCQB Quoted Issuers

Issuers quoted on the OTCQB are now required to promptly disclose the issuance of any promissory notes, convertible notes, convertible debentures, or any other debt instruments that may be converted into a class of the issuer’s equity securities. In addition, OTCQB issuers are now required to promptly post copies on the OTC Disclosure & News...

Trump Administration Proposes Revisions to Streamline Environmental Review Process under National Environmental Policy Act

For many mining and infrastructure projects in the United States, a primary cause of permitting uncertainty, expense, and delay is compliance with the environmental review process under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). On January 10, 2020, the Council on Environmental Quality (“CEQ”) proposed comprehensive revisions to the regulations implementing the NEPA. 85 Fed. Reg....

Independent Contractors Under U.S. Law: Knowing Your ABCs

A recent trend in U.S. employment law has been the adoption of stricter and stricter tests for when a worker may be classified as an independent contractor rather than an employee. Independent contractor relationships are often less expensive and easier for employers to administer since employers are not responsible for providing healthcare benefits to independent...