Canadian Securities Administrators grant temporary relief from proxy material delivery requirements during postal service suspension

The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) issued temporary relief from certain requirements to deliver proxy-related materials for shareholder meetings covering certain annual matters, in response to a postal service suspension that may prevent reporting issuers from reaching all shareholders. The relief is set out in Coordinated Blanket Order 51-932, adopted across multiple Canadian jurisdictions, and provides a temporary exemption from specified sending requirements in National Instrument 51-102 Continuous Disclosure Obligations and National Instrument 54-101 Communication with Beneficial Owners of Securities of a Reporting Issuer. It applies only to obligations under securities legislation and does not extend to delivery requirements under corporate law. Reporting issuers, intermediaries and other participants in the proxy-voting process are expected to use alternative delivery methods where available and take steps to increase transparency for shareholders on how to access proxy materials, obtain individual control numbers and vote; the accompanying CSA notice also outlines circumstances where the relief cannot be relied upon.