Cease Trade Orders

A cease trade order (CTO) is an order issued by a provincial or territorial securities regulatory authority or similar regulatory body against a company or an individual. Orders are issued for reasons such as failing to meet disclosure requirements or as a result of an enforcement action that involves an investigation of wrongdoing.

There are two types of orders. A company order is an order which prohibits residents in the province where the CTO was issued from trading in the securities of that company. A management cease trade order (MCTO) names specific members of a company's senior management and insiders (including the company if it owns securities) and prohibits them from trading in the securities of a company.

Who issues cease trade orders and why?

Securities regulatory authorities have sole authority to issue CTOs. The securities regulatory authorities and tribunals oversee securities regulation in their respective provinces or territories and require publicly traded companies to disclose material information to the public as soon as possible. For example, publicly traded companies must file copies of quarterly and annual financial statements and management's discussion and analysis (MD&A) with provincial and territorial securities regulatory authorities, and must also send this information to shareholders. Companies must also disclose material events or developments - such as takeover bids and merger and acquisitions, which may affect the value of the company's shares. When a company fails to do so, a CTO against either the company or certain individuals may be issued. In addition, a CTO may be issued against companies or individuals who may be subject to an enforcement action.

Presently, all equity and fixed income marketplaces in Canada have retained the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) as their regulation services provider. Under the rules adopted by IIROC, if a securities regulator issues a CTO with respect to an issuer whose securities are traded on a marketplace, IIROC imposes a regulatory halt on trading of those securities on all marketplaces for which IIROC acts as a the regulatory services provider. Such action is taken whether or not the CSA regulator that issued the CTO is the principal regulator of the issuer. Once the halt is imposed by IIROC, no person subject to these rules may trade those securities on any marketplace in Canada, over-the counter or on a foreign organized regulated market. The Montreal Exchange regulates and oversees the options market. When a CTO is issued, the Montreal Exchange and IIROC coordinate their decisions to halt trading of securities and options on these marketplaces simultaneously.

How do I find cease trade orders?

You can find information about cease trade orders by searching the Cease Trade Order database. The Company CTO Database contains the names of all companies that issue securities whose securities have been recently or previously cease-traded by a securities regulator in Canada in the jurisdiction indicated. The Other CTO Database contains individuals or companies who have been ordered to cease trading in certain circumstances.

Some helpful hints for searching the CTO database:

• To search for both a Company CTO and an Other CTO at the same time, use the Advanced Search and select both Company and Other under “Type”.
• To get the best results when searching for a specific name, only input the company name (don’t include “Inc.”, “Co.”, etc.) or only input the last name of the individual.

How long does a CTO last? How will I know the status of a CTO?

A CTO may remain in effect until a certain date, or for an indefinite period of time. A CTO's status will be listed as either 'Issued', 'Amended', ‘Expired’ or 'Revoked':

• An issued CTO means that the cease trade order is currently in force.
• An amended CTO means that the original order has been changed and the changed order is currently in force.
• An expired CTO means that the original order has expired and is no longer in force.
• A revoked CTO means that the CTO has been lifted and is no longer in force.

Coverage by Jurisdiction

The securities regulators update the company and other cease trade order databases immediately. Coverage for either Company CTOs or Other CTOs begins on the date indicated in the respective table below.

Active CTOs have been issued, or issued and amended, and remain outstanding.
For inactive CTOs, the database includes all CTOs that have been revoked or expired as of the date below. Some additional revoked or expired CTOs may be available from earlier dates.

Company Cease Trade Orders

Other Cease Trade Orders
 

* participating, but no CTOs in this category as of June 30, 2006
** Enforcement CTO as of January 2004 / Management CTO as of April 2005

Subscription Information

You can subscribe to the National CTO Database to receive automatic email alerts when securities regulators add new content to the database. After you subscribe, you’ll also be able to login to view CUSIP numbers and exchange symbols for some companies.

To subscribe, email your contact information to the CSA Secretariat. You can contact the CSA Secretariat for further information at (514) 864-9510.

About CUSIP data

CUSIP data is proprietary to Standard & Poor's CUSIP Service Bureau. To download a complete list of CTOs which includes CUSIP numbers, you must have a license agreement directly with Standard & Poor's. If you are licensed to use CUSIPs, please contact the CSA Secretariat. They will enable your account so that you can download a complete list of CTOs and CUSIP numbers when you are logged into the CTO database.

If you don't have a license to use CUSIPs, after you have subscribed you can still download up to 200 cease trade order records with CUSIPs at a time without a fee. This is an auditable process, and the CSA may track your access and provide Standard & Poor's CUSIP Service Bureau with a history of your downloading activities.