In 2002, the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) set up a program of continuous disclosure review (CDR Program) to help ensure that issuers for whom Québec is the principal regulator provide quality and complete financial information in accordance with regulations and in a timely manner. The Program is directly related to the national initiative known as the “Harmonized Continuous Disclosure Review Program” published in Staff Notice 51-312 of the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA).

Since Regulation 51-102 respecting Continuous Disclosure Obligations (“ Regulation 51-102”) is intended to ensure that Canadian investors receive a uniformly high level of continuous disclosure across the country, it is critical to the success of the Regulation that issuers understand and comply with their obligations. The CDR Program therefore has two fundamental objectives: education and compliance.
The first objective is to help issuers understand the nature and extent of their disclosure obligations under the Securities Act (the “Act”) and Regulation 51-102. We attempt to do this through our interaction with issuers during the course of our continuous disclosure reviews. The publication of our annual activity report is another tool designed to help achieve this objective.

The second objective is to determine, through the continuous disclosure review process, whether issuers are in fact complying with their disclosure obligations under the Act and Regulation 51-102. The CDR Program is designed to identify material disclosure deficiencies and questionable transactions that impact the reliability and accuracy of an issuer’s disclosure record. Our reviews do not uncover fraud; nor do they provide an analysis of an issuer’s financial position. In fact, while the objective of a continuous disclosure review is to improve the overall quality of disclosure provided to the marketplace, the fact that an issuer has been the subject of such a review does not guarantee the accuracy of its disclosure.

Generally, an issuer will be subject to either an issue-oriented review or a full review.

Issue-oriented reviews are in-depth, focused reviews. They focus on a particular disclosure issue or industry that we believe warrants regulatory scrutiny.

Full reviews are broader than issue-oriented reviews and encompass more sources of public disclosure. A full review usually includes, among other things, the following information of an issuer:

• Annual financial statements and Management's Discussion and Analysis (MD&A)
• Interim financial statements and MD&A
• Technical disclosure
• Annual Information Forms (AIF)
• Annual Reports
• Information Circulars
• Press releases and material change reports

Our reviews are conducted on a sample basis. Risk criteria are used to select most issuers for review purposes. Our criteria may therefore vary from time to time.

Deficiencies are brought to the attention of issuers, and we follow up on our observations and recommendations to ensure that the issues identified during our review are resolved in a timely and appropriate manner. When material deficiencies or errors are identified, issuers are required to restate and refile financial statements and other continuous disclosure documents as well as distribute a press release to explain the default.

For more information about the CDR program, contact the AMF Information Centre.

• 2009 Activity Report
• 2008 Activity Report
• 2007 Activity Report
• 2006 Activity Report
• 2005 Activity Report
• 2004 Activity Report
• 2003 Activity Report

• AMF Staff Notice – Reverse Takeovers
• CSA Staff Notice 52-306 (revised) : Non-GAAP Financial Measures
• CSA Staff Notice 51-319 : Report on Staff's Second Continuous Disclosure Review of Income Trust Issuers
• CSA Staff Notice 51-316 : Continuous Disclosure Review of Smaller Issuers
• CSA Staff Notice 51-312 (revised) : Harmonized Continuous Disclosure Review Program 
• Notice 51-314: Retirement Benefits Disclosure (January 2005)
• Notice 51-312: Harmonized Continuous Disclosure Review Program (July 2004)
• Notice 51-310: Report on Staff's Continuous Disclosure Review of Income Trust Issuers (February 2004)

Canada’s Continuous Disclosure Rules are Changing (brochure produced by the Canadian Securities Administrators)

• Regulation 51-102 respecting Continuous Disclosure Obligations
• Regulation 52-107 respecting Acceptable Accounting Principles, Auditing Standards and Reporting Currency
• Regulation 52-108 respecting Auditor Oversight
• Regulation 52-109 respecting Certification of Disclosure in Issuers' Annual and Interim Filings
• Regulation 52-110 respecting Audit Committees
• Regulation 58-101 respecting Disclosure of Corporate Governance Practices
• Regulation 71-102 respecting Continuous Disclosure and Other Exemptions relating to Foreign Issuers
• Regulation 81-106 respecting Investment Fund Continuous Disclosure