Important Development Relative to Private Placements in Quebec: Availability of the Accredited Investor Exemption for Quebec Investors

May 1, 2004

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Josianne Beaudry
Partner, Lawyer

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February 21, 2024

New corporate transparency requirements in Canada, Québec and the U.S. – What Canadian and Québec companies need to know

Over the last several years, member countries of the OECD, including Canada and the U.S., have committed to various international undertakings dealing with corporate governance. In keeping with these commitments, since 2019, the Canada Business Corporations Act (CBCA) has required business corporations incorporated under the CBCA to prepare and maintain a register of individuals with significant control over the corporation. Nearly all Canadian provinces, including Québec, have also amended their legislation to make control of companies incorporated in their jurisdiction more transparent. For instance, since March 31, 2023, companies registered with the Québec Enterprise Register (REQ) must report their ultimate beneficiaries to the REQ. Providing greater transparency in the control of Canadian businesses is a continuing process, and additional provisions that apply to federal business corporations came into force on January 22, 2024, and others, applicable to businesses registered with the REQ, will come into force on July 31, 2024. The provisions of the Corporate Transparency Act of the United States requiring companies to report beneficial ownership information came into force on January 1, 2024; some of these provisions are of interest for Canadian companies. Canada – Public register of individuals with significant control Since June 2019, business corporations incorporated under the Canada Business Corporations Act have been required to maintain a register of “individuals with significant control” (ISCs) containing the following information: the name, date of birth and last known personal address of each ISC the citizenship, country or countries where the ISCs are residents for tax purposes the date on which each of these individuals became an ISC the manner in which the individual is an ISC and any other information required by the regulation.1 Although federal corporations must make this register accessible to the Director tasked with administering the Canada Business Corporations Act, to shareholders and creditors of the corporation and to investigative bodies, the register was not accessible to the public until recently. On November 2, 2023, the federal legislator amended the provisions of the Canada Business Corporations Act to, among others: allow ISCs to provide an address for service in addition to their personal address provide that a portion of the ISC information compiled by federally incorporated businesses must be sent to the Director tasked with administering the CBCA provide that the Director must make the following information on ISCs accessible to the public: their name their address for reporting purposes if such an address is provided or, failing which, their personal address the date on which they became an individual with significant control and a description of the manner in which each one is an individual with significant control Note that even if the date of birth, citizenship, country or countries where the ISC is a resident for tax purposes and their personal address (if they provided an address for reporting purposes) must be provided to the Director overseeing the Canada Business Corporations Act, this information will not be made public. The Director may, however, in turn provide to any police force, the Canada Revenue Agency and any provincial body that has responsibilities similar to those of the Canada Revenue Agency, bodies that have investigative powers in relation to certain offences, a provincial enterprise register or provincial agency enforcing corporate law in that province all or part of a corporation’s ISC information, which goes beyond the information it makes available to the public. A corporation must send its ISC information electronically through the Corporations Canada website, at incorporation (if incorporated after January 22, 2024), annually and concurrently with the filing of its annual declaration, within 30 days following its merger with another CBCA corporation, within 30 days of the date on which it becomes subject to the CBCA after incorporating under the laws of another jurisdiction, and within 15 days following any changes made to its register of ISCs. These amendments came into force on January 22, 2024. To assist federal corporations in drawing up a list of their ISCs, the Director tasked with administering the Canada Business Corporations Act posted a letter template on its website that federal corporations may send to their shareholders, their ISCs and to anyone who could reasonably be expected to have the relevant knowledge to identify their ISCs.2 The purpose of that letter is to help the corporation in identifying its ISCs. It is mandatory for shareholders to respond to the corporation’s request and failure to respond may result in significant fines and even imprisonment. Québec – Search a natural person by last name and first name Since April 1, 2023, most private businesses that required to register in Québec must report to the Registre des entreprises du Québec the names, residential address and date of birth of each of their ultimate beneficiaries, and the type of control exercised by them or the percentage of shares or units of the corporation owned by these ultimate beneficiaries or of which they are the beneficiaries. In general, an ultimate beneficiary of a business is a natural person who owns or is the beneficiary of 25% or more of the voting rights for that business, who owns or is the beneficiary of 25% or more of its fair market value or who has an influence that could result in de facto control over the business. The information reported on ultimate beneficiaries is accessible to the public and free for anyone consulting the REQ. The requirement to report ultimate beneficiaries applies to almost all businesses registered in Québec and is not limited to businesses incorporated under Québec law nor to business corporations. Therefore, any foreign legal person that is required to register in Québec must report its ultimate beneficiaries. The same applies to partnerships, such as general partnerships and limited partnerships, and some trusts. As of July 31, 2024, it will be possible to search the REQ using the last name and first name of a natural person. Accordingly, from that date, it will be possible to obtain the list of all businesses registered in the REQ of which a person is a director, officer, one of the three shareholders controlling the greatest number of votes and an ultimate beneficiary by searching by his or her last name and first name. The last and first name of the natural person and his or her residential address will appear in the search results. However, if a work address was reported to the register for that person, only the work address will appear. Federally incorporated businesses registered with the REQ A federally incorporated business that does business in Québec must maintain a register of its ISCs under the Canada Business Corporations Act and report information on its ultimate beneficiaries to the REQ. Although most ISCs of a federally incorporated business will also be the ultimate beneficiaries under the Act respecting the legal publicity of enterprises and vice versa, the two acts do not define an ISC and ultimate beneficiary in exactly the same way. A person may be an ultimate beneficiary under the Act respecting the legal publicity of enterprises without necessarily being an ISC under the Canada Business Corporations Act (and vice versa). Consequently, the content of the register of ISCs for a federally incorporated business — and thus information it will have reported to the Director in charge of the Canada Business Corporations Act — may not be identical to the ultimate beneficiary information it will have reported to the REQ. However, federally incorporated businesses that do not do business in Québec are not required to register under the Act respecting the legal publicity of enterprises. All other provinces, except for Alberta,3 have now incorporated provisions into their business corporations legislation requiring corporations registered under the laws of that province to maintain a register of individuals with significant control. As a result, these provisions only apply to business corporations incorporated under the law of the province and, therefore, do not apply to business corporations incorporated under the Canada Business Corporations Act or under the business corporation act of another province. Corporate Transparency Act in the United States coming into force – Impact on Canadian businesses On January 1, 2021, the Corporate Transparency Act, part of the U.S. Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020, came into force. Just like the amendments made to the Canada Business Corporations Act and to the Act respecting the legal publicity of enterprises (Québec), the aim of the Corporate Transparency Act is to prevent and fight against money laundering, terrorism financing, corruption, tax fraud and other illicit activities, among others, by increasing the transparency of private companies incorporated in or registered in the United States. On January 1, 2024, the reporting requirements in the Corporate Transparency Act to identify “beneficial owners,” which are basically equivalent to ISCs under the Canada Business Corporations Act and “ultimate beneficiaries” under the Act respecting the legal publicity of enterprises (Québec), came into force. Businesses covered by the act and incorporated before January 1, 2024, have until January 1, 2025, to file their first Beneficial Ownership Information Report. Businesses incorporated after that date must file their first report no later than 30 days after the date they first register with a U.S. government authority. Reports on beneficial ownership of businesses are filed with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, an agency of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, better known by its acronym FinCEN. Reporting businesses must submit an updated report within 30 days of any change in information previously reported to FinCEN. Reports on beneficial ownership are not accessible to the public and are not subject to the U.S. Freedom of Information Act. The information contained in these reports will be, however, generally accessible to United States law enforcement agencies and United States federal tax authorities. Foreign law enforcement authorities may also be granted access in certain circumstances through United States federal intermediary agencies. Provided they have received the consent of their clients, financial institutions will also have access to the information to facilitate compliance with customer due diligence requirements under applicable law. All corporations incorporated in the U.S. must file beneficial ownership information reports unless they are legally exempt. Exempt businesses include: most businesses whose securities are registered under the Securities Act of 1934 large businesses, i.e., businesses with more than 20 full-time employees in the U.S., having a facility in the U.S., and having reported over U.S.$5 million in gross revenues or sales in the previous reporting period. It follows that in most cases, unless it is exempted, usually because it will qualify as a “large business” due to the number of its employees and its revenues, a U.S. subsidiary of a Canadian corporation will have to comply with the act and report the identity of its Canadian beneficial owners. A reporting business must, among other things, report the full name, the date of birth and the address of all its beneficial owners. The U.S. subsidiary of a Canadian corporation must also submit a copy of the Canadian passport (or from the country of citizenship of the person in question) for each of its beneficial owners. A person is deemed a beneficial owner of a corporation if he or she is a natural person who, directly or indirectly, exercises substantial control over the reporting corporation, or owns or controls at least 25% of the corporation’s ownership interests (shares, units or others), in voting rights or in value. The definition of “substantial control” for the purposes of the Corporate Transparency Act is much broader and more specific than what is found in equivalent Canadian legislation. An individual has “substantial control” over a reporting corporation under the Corporate Transparency Act if such individual (i) is a senior officer in the corporation, (ii) has authority to appoint or remove certain officers or a majority of the directors (or similar body) of the reporting corporation, (iii) is an important decision maker of the reporting corporation or (iv) has any other form of substantial control over the reporting corporation. The Corporate Transparency Act imposes serious penalties on individuals who willfully fail to file or update beneficial ownership information or who willfully file false information. These penalties include civil penalties of up to U.S.$500 per day of violation, fines of up to U.S.$10,000, as well as potential; imprisonment for a period up to two years. Note that the act contains a presumption against senior officers in respect to reported information that is false, incomplete or not up to date. These officers could therefore be held personally held liable for civil penalties and fines and could be subject to imprisonment if the reported information proves to be false or incomplete or not up to date. Senior officers must therefore be especially vigilant and ensure that the reporting requirements under the Corporate Transparency Act are met. The Director tasked with administering the Canada Business Corporations Act has posted a template for the register of ISCs on its website. This register can be found at: https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/corporations-canada/sites/default/files/documents/2023-12/04.3_isc-register-template_en.xlsx This template can be found at: This template can be found at: https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/corporations-canada/sites/default/files/documents/2023-12/06.1_request_for_information_template_isc_en.pdf The three territories, Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut, still have yet to amend their legislation to require a register of individuals with significant control to be maintained for business corporations incorporated under the business corporation acts of those territories.

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April 11, 2022

Federal Budget 2022: Good News for Mining Exploration Compagnies!

On April 7, 2022, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland tabled the federal government’s new budget for 2022. This budget includes several tax measures relevant to the mining industry in Canada. The Canadian federal government intends to provide $3.8 billion over eight years to implement Canada’s first critical minerals strategy. One of the methods used to implement this new strategy and stimulate exploration is an investment vehicle well known to the mining industry: flow-through shares. The 2022 budget proposes to create a new 30% Critical Mineral Exploration Tax Credit (CMETC) for certain specified minerals. Specified minerals that would be eligible for the new CMETC are: copper, nickel, lithium, cobalt, graphite, rare earth elements, scandium, titanium, gallium, vanadium, tellurium, magnesium, zinc, platinum group metals and uranium. As for the regular mineral exploration tax credit, the exploration expenses must have been incurred in Canada. The renunciation of expenses must also have been made under flow-through share agreements entered into after budget day and before March 31, 2027. It is important to note that there will be no cumulation of tax credits. Eligible expenditures will not be eligible for both the proposed new CMETC and the 15% regular mineral exploration tax credit (METC). In order for exploration expenses to qualify for the CMETC, a qualified person (as defined in National Instrument 43–101 issued by the Canadian Securities Administrators) will further have to certify that the expenses renounced will be incurred in the course of an exploration project for specified minerals. On this point, the measure seems to insert a new legal test of “reasonable expectation” that the minerals targeted by the exploration are “primarily specified minerals”. No details have yet been issued on the mechanics of applying this test. However, if the qualified person is unable to demonstrate that there is a reasonable expectation that the minerals targeted by the exploration project are predominantly specified minerals, the related exploration expenses would not be eligible for the CMETC and consequently, any credit granted for ineligible expenses would be recouped from the flow-through share holder who received the credit. Pending the tabling of a more detailed legislative version, careful attention and planning will therefore be required for new flow-through share financings to ensure that they meet the legal criteria for this new tax credit. Our team of professionals in securities, mining law and taxation is available to answer all your questions regarding this new measure and to assist you in the implementation of a successful flow-through financing: Josianne Beaudry René Branchaud Ali El Haskouri Charles-Hugo Gagné Éric Gélinas Sébastien Vézina

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June 15, 2021

Five good reasons to list your company on the stock exchange and opt for equity financing

In 2020, the pandemic disrupted the Quebec economy and the trend continued in 2021. After a difficult year for local businesses, there is an opportunity for business owners to rethink their business model as they develop their recovery plan. In this context, an initial public offering and equity financing might be a good idea. While the process is relatively costly and time-consuming for senior management, not to mention that it results in a series of obligations for the company and its executives and major shareholders, the benefits far outweigh the disadvantages. Here are five good reasons to take your company public and use equity financing to ensure a successful future. 1. Equity financing: financing your company’s growth differently The moment your company goes public, you significantly expand and diversify your equity financing sources. You are no longer dependent on traditional bank loans. Your company can now raise capital much more easily and at a much lower cost, for example through the issuance of convertible securities, share capital, rights or warrants. In addition, your pool of funders expands considerably, going far beyond founding shareholders, your banker and your very close friends and relatives. All these equity financing tools make it possible to more aggressively manage the growth of your business and take advantage of new business opportunities. 2. Equity financing: facilitating mergers and acquisitions Having a company listed on the stock exchange means having a key advantage when it comes to your expansion plan. Once listed, you can acquire another business using your company’s shares as leverage. This added flexibility increases your chances of success in negotiations. You can thus be more bold in your growth management, as you will no longer be limited to conventional financing methods. 3. Equity financing: gaining notoriety By making the decision to take your business public and opting for equity ?nancing, you will give your business greater visibility. First, the initial public offering will be an opportunity to make your company known to investors through promotional events organized by the brokers participating in the issuance, among others. Second, public companies are often followed by ?nancial analysts, and such attention can be an asset when it comes to marketing products and services. In short, by having your company in the spotlight, it will inevitably gain notoriety, both with investors and economic partners. Finally, for many customers and suppliers, doing business with a publicly traded company is reassuring. They see it as a sign of a well-established business, and this perception can facilitate the conclusion of a sale or supply contract. 4. Equity financing: increasing the market value of your business Better ?nancing costs, greater liquidity for your company’s shares, improved growth potential and increased visibility will all make the market value of your company signi?cantly higher than it was before going public. Once listed, book value will no longer be the main indicator used to determine your company’s worth. It will be worth what investors recognize its value to be, based on its potential for growth and pro?tability and its performance relative to competitors. 5. Company succession made easier When the time comes, it will be much easier for you to retire from your business and bene?t from the fruits of your years-long effort. You will have a number of options, including disposing of your shares through a secondary offering. It will also be easier to attract talented people to take over your business because of the multiple bene?ts that come with the status of public company. The advantages of listing your company on the stock exchange and opting for equity ?nancing are many. In addition to the ?ve points presented here, we could add increased credibility with clients and suppliers, better compensation for key employees, less dilution during fundraising, and others. More companies entering the stock market will rebuild our economy. If you are thinking of transforming your company into a public one, opting for equity ?nancing and taking the plunge into the stock market, do not hesitate to call on one of our lawyers practicing in business law to guide and advise you in the process.

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February 9, 2018

Securities and class actions: screening authorizations

Anyone who wants to bring an action in damages relating to the secondary securities market must prove that the action is brought in good faith and has a reasonable chance of success (s. 225.4 QSA). In Quebec,1 as elsewhere in Canada,2 no prior disclosure of evidence may be obtained by plaintiff for the purpose of meeting this burden. The procedure prescribed by the QSA is complete and sufficient, so recourse to the rules Code of Civil Procedure is unwarranted. Where such an action is brought by way of class action, the court must furthermore be convinced that the criteria for authorizing a class action are also met. The Court of Appeal does not expressly rule on whether prior disclosure is available to the investor to sustain the proposed class action. These specific rules have no impact on the general rules regarding insurance, such as a plaintiff's direct right of action against the insurer of the person who caused the damage (art. 2501 CCQ). Regardless of the subject matter (the secondary market) or the procedural vehicle (class action), a court may order a defendant to disclose such documents which are necessary for a meaningful exercise of this right, such as insurance policies. In its recent decision in Amaya Inc. v. Derome, 2018 QCCA 120, the Court of Appeal ruled on the interaction between the Securities Act, CQLR, c.V-1.1 (QSA) and the rules specific to class actions in relation to applications by investors for prior disclosure of documents by a public issuer. We summarize here a much-anticipated decision. The Specific Framework of the QSA The QSA governs actions relating to financial markets. Although such actions may be introduced on an individual basis, class actions are regarded as the preferred vehicle, “given that publicly-traded issuers generally have many investors in like circumstances and, if something goes wrong, they are likely to come together to avail themselves of the advantages of a class action.”3 Class actions are merely one of the available vehicles, and it is in no way a requirement to use this type of proceeding. With respect to actions relating to the secondary market, section 225.4 QSA requires that any investor, whether acting personally or as representative of a proposed group, be authorized by the court before bringing the proposed action. This restriction was enacted –and similarly so across Canada–4 to preserve public confidence in stock markets,5 but also to protect public issuers against opportunistic actions brought in hopes of obtaining a settlement rather than to obtain compensation for actual damage.6 Accordingly, an investor who claims to have been defrauded will have to prove to the court from which authorization is requested that the proposed action is “in good faith and there is a reasonable possibility that it will be resolved in favour of the plaintiff” (s. 225.4 para. 3 QSA). Motions for authorization should be addressed as early as possible, so that judicial resources are allocated only to meritorious cases. Interaction With Class Actions If the action takes the form of a class action, the investor must also meet the criteria for authorization of a class action (art. 575 CCP), a burden which has been established to be a light one, since it simply involves proving that “the facts alleged appear to justify the conclusions sought” (art. 575(3) CCP).7 Not only do the QSA and the CCP impose different burdens, but the authorization they require arises at different moments in the course of the proceedings o: the authorization required by section 225.4 QSA must, necessarily, precede the authorization required by article 575 CCP. As the Court of Appeal points out: “This is eminently logical: where leave is required under the Act, there is no action upon which the class action, as a procedural vehicle, can rest until that leave is granted.”8 Of course, both issues can be disposed of in one judgment.9 With these distinctions made, it is clear that any application brought for the purpose of enabling an investor to meet the burden established by section 225.4 QSA must be analyzed pursuant to the rules set out in that provision and not the rules that generally apply to class actions.10 The judgment appealed from was therefore not a “pre-authorization class action judgment”; it was a “judgment prior to leave under the [QSA]”.11 Accordingly, it had to be reviewed in accordance with the requirements and the spirit of the QSA.12 The Judgment Under Appeal The trial judge had granted an application for documentary disclosure, relying on the parties’ general duty to cooperate set forth by article 20 of the CCP.13 He thus arrived at a solution that is unique in the Canadian legal landscape.14 Though rendered during a case management conference, the judgment under appeal went significantly beyond the confines of case management. Accordingly, the application for leave should follow the rules applicable to judgments rendered in the course of proceedings, set out in article 31 para. 2 CCP.15 The trial judge's decision has addressed a point of law regarding to discovery, which impacted “the character of the proceedings themselves,” and which, if decided wrongly could cause irreparable harm to defendant, regardless of the expenses involved.16 Leave was granted and the Court of Appeal had to consider, on the merits, whether the trial judge was correct in applying the general principles of Quebec civil procedure to the applications for documentary disclosure that were before him. For the Code of Civil Procedure to “compensate[e] for the silence of the other laws if the context so admits,” as provided by its preliminary provision, such a silence must exist. In the opinion of the Court of Appeal, considering the purpose and history of section 225.4 QSA – in particular its goal of screening out opportunistic actions as soon as possible17 – and the uniformity of legislation on this subject in Canada,18 no such silence can be found to exist. On the contrary: in order to avoid short-circuiting the requirement for prior authorization and avoid fishing expeditions and mini-trials, judges who are responsible for authorizing actions of this nature must require that applicants meet their burden themselves.19 Neither the combination of articles 20 and 221 CCP or the specific context of class actions can sidestep that prohibition.20 Insofar as it was sought to allow the investor to meet the burden imposed by section 225.4 QSA, the application for documentary disclosure should have been dismissed. By contrast, the application to obtain disclosure of the insurance policies did not fall within the specific context of section 225.4 SA, and the trial judge's order was left undisturbed, Given the principle of cooperation (art. 20 CCP), but most importantly the long-settled principle that a third party seeking to exercise their right of action against the insurer of the person who caused the damage they suffered (art. 2501 CCQ) such applications can be justified in that they allow potential parties to the case to be identified.21 The Court of Appeal’s decision does not directly address whether class counsel may succeed in a request for “relevant evidence to be submitted” within the meaning of article 574 para. 3 CCP; such requests are traditionally considered to be properly made to contest the application, that is, necessarily by defendant, given that the allegations in the application for authorization to institute a class action must be assumed to be true at that stage.22 Summary Section 225.4 QSA is the expression, in Quebec law, of an intent common to all Canadian legislatures to create a screening mechanism for actions relating to the secondary market, in order to preserve investor confidence and deter frivolous suits. Accordingly, where an applicant seeks prior disclosure in order to meet the criterion for authorization set out in section 225.4 QSA, his or her application should be dismissed, including in a class action context. Where the objective of the application for prior disclosure is not one germane to the QSA, for instance, where an applicant seeks information to join an insurer to the proceedings, such application needs to be considered under the ordinary rules of Quebec law. Theratechnologies Inc. v. 121851 Canada inc., [2015] 2 SCR 106, 2015 SCC 18 Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce v. Green, [2015] 3 SCR 801, 2015 SCC 60 Par. 52 Par. 97 Par. 84 Paras. 49 and 84; following, inter alia, Theratechnologies Inc. v. 121851 Canada inc., [2015] 2 SCR 106, 2015 SCC 18 or Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce v. Green, [2015] 3 SCR 801, 2015 SCC 60 Para. 50 Para. 46. Paras. 20, 46 and 54 Para. 45 Paras. 42, 45 and 55 Para. 55 Derome v. Amaya inc., 2017 QCCS 44, paras. 79 et seq. Para. 36; compare: Mask v. Silvercorp Metals Inc., 2016 ONCA 641 and Mask v. Silvercorp Metals Inc., 2014 ONSC 4161 – leave to appeal ref’d: Mask v. Silvercorp Metals, Inc., 2014 ONSC 464 (Ont. Div. Ct); Bayens v. Kinross Gold Corp., 2013 ONSC 6864; Silver v. Imax, (2009) 66 B.L.R. (4th) 222, leave to appeal ref'd, Silver v. Imax,2011 ONSC 1035 (Ont. Div. Ct) Paras. 73 to 79 Paras. 66 et seq.; leave to appeal had been referred to a panel of the Court: Amaya inc. v. Derome, 2017 QCCA 335. Paras. 49 and 84 Paras. 9 and 97 Paras. 9 and 93 Paras. 106 and 107 Collège d'enseignement général et professionnel de Jonquière (CÉGEP) v. Champagne, 1996 CanLII 4413 (CA) Benizri v. Canada Post Corporation, 2016 QCCS 454, para. 6

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