The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) announced March 16 that it will be taking a number of precautions to protect the health and safety of its employees and the public against COVID-19.

All in-person outreach, including Registrant Outreach sessions, OSC LaunchPad information days and OSC in the Community information sessions are cancelled and upcoming Registrant Outreach and SME Institute webinars will be re-scheduled. In-person consultation with OSC advisory committees, market participants and investors will be re-scheduled as teleconference meetings.

In addition, there will be no in-person OSC hearings until at least April 30. The OSC says the Office of the Secretary will reach out to parties with hearings scheduled between now and April 30 to determine if the hearing may be held by teleconference or in writing.

Staff will work from home, and essential core operations will continue but may be delivered remotely. External access is limited to only those required for essential operations.

On-site compliance reviews and Risk Assessment Questionnaires are postponed until further notice. Normal-course registration and compliance activities will continue as planned, but the OSC says it will be flexible on deadlines for information.