NI 54-101 Ushers In New Era For Canadian Shareholder Communications

On July 1, 2002, National Policy 41 was replaced by NI 54-101, ushering in a new era in Canadian shareholder communications.

NI 54-101 will enable companies to:

• obtain the names, addresses (including email) and shareholdings of "non-objecting beneficial owners" of their stock
  
  
• wean shareholders from print materials to electronic delivery
  
  
• reduce the minimum number of days between the record date of for a meeting and the meeting itself to 30 days from 35

However, it's important to note:

• lists of non-objecting beneficial owners will not become available until after August 31, 2002
  
  
• companies will not be able to directly send proxy-related materials to non-objecting beneficial owners until September 1, 2004
  
  
• companies will still need to receive consent for electronic delivery from each shareholder