CLE Online

Welcome and Introduction

Fred R. Pletcher — Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, Vancouver
Leo Raffin — McMillan LLP, Vancouver

Case Law Update

• key cases
• analysis and trends
• effects on practice

Fred R. Pletcher — Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, Vancouver
Leo Raffin — McMillan LLP, Vancouver

Regulatory Update

• personal information forms
• four character stock symbols
• TSX Venture Shareholder Approval Waivers
• TSX Venture Sponsorship Waivers
• rights offerings
• proxy season preparations: majority voting and advance notice policies, changes to share comp disclosure (RFC)
• shareholder approval for dilutive public company acquisition and the new takeover bid regime
• practice tips

Charlotte P. Bell — TSX Venture Exchange Inc., Vancouver
Rory S. Godinho — Miller Thomson LLP, Vancouver
Julie K. Shin — Director, Listed Issuer Services, Toronto Stock Exchange, Toronto

Break

Cease Trade Orders

• issuance to full revocation
• practical issues

Michael Moretto — Manager, Corporate, British Columbia Securities Commission, Vancouver
Lucy H. Schilling — DuMoulin Black Management Ltd., Vancouver

Lunch with Luncheon Speaker: CMRA Update

Rory S. Godinho — Miller Thomson LLP, Vancouver

What Have I Agreed To?: Navigating Common Contract Concepts

• the meaning of words:

o “reasonableness”
o “good faith”
o “sole discretion”
o “best efforts” vs. “reasonable efforts”

Michael M. Stephens — Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP, Vancouver
Shannon D. Webber — Alterra Power Corp., Vancouver

Acting for Companies in Unusual Industries: A Marijuana Sampler

• legal framework for medical marijuana
• pathway to legalization and regulation of recreational marijuana
• practice points

Desmond Balakrishnan — McMillan LLP, Vancouver
James Munro — McMillan LLP, Vancouver

Break

State of Oppression Actions and Derivative Actions for Public Companies in Canada 

• how does compliance with corporate law interact with oppression?
• what remedies will a court order where oppression is found, particularly where a transaction or third parties are involved?
• what will a court consider in deciding whether to grant leave to commence a derivative action and how can a company take steps to avert leave?
• what is the current interplay between oppression and a derivative action?

Teresa Tomchak — Farris, Vaughan, Wills & Murphy LLP, Vancouver

Shareholder Activism

• activist playbook: attacks and dirty tricks your client can expect to suffer
• role of the media and communications in proxy fights

Alan Bayless, ICD.D — Longview Communications Inc., Vancouver
Bernhard J. Zinkhofer — McMillan LLP, Vancouver

Closing Questions and Comments