The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) indicated it expects to publish temporary relief from requirements to deliver proxy-related materials for shareholder meetings, if a complete suspension of postal service occurs following the Canadian Union of Postal Workers’ strike notice. The relief would apply to certain annual matters and is intended to address issuers’ practical difficulty in delivering proxy materials to all shareholders during a postal shutdown. Any relief is expected to be substantially similar to the CSA’s December 4, 2024 relief under Coordinated Blanket Order 51-931, which provided a temporary exemption from requirements in National Instrument 51-102 Continuous Disclosure Obligations and National Instrument 54-101 Communication with Beneficial Owners of Securities of a Reporting Issuer for sending certain proxy-related materials during a postal strike. The CSA noted that any exemption would apply only to securities-law delivery requirements and would not extend to corporate-law delivery obligations, and it expects issuers, intermediaries and other parties to use alternate delivery methods where available and take steps to improve shareholder access to proxy materials, control numbers and voting.
Canadian Securities Administrators 2025-05-22
Canadian Securities Administrators anticipates temporary relief from proxy-material delivery requirements if postal service is suspended
The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) plan to issue temporary relief from delivering proxy-related materials for shareholder meetings if a postal strike occurs. This relief mirrors the CSA's previous exemption under Coordinated Blanket Order 51-931, applying only to securities-law delivery requirements. Issuers and intermediaries must use alternative methods to ensure shareholder access to proxy materials.