January 26, 2012


Ottawa (Canada) – Fasken Martineau, a leading international business law and litigation firm, has identified its top Ottawa legal stories for this month and has seasoned lawyers available to comment.

1) The Cost of Spamming

Tough anti-spam legislation enacted by Ottawa in late 2010 is now expected to come into force this year. Once in force, this new law has real teeth. Enforcement action is expected to be driven not only by Canadian regulators that will have broad powers under the new anti-spam law to investigate and sanction non-compliance, but also by class action plaintiffs.

Leslie Milton, a recognized expert in Canadian communications law, and Peter Mantas, a seasoned commercial and class action litigator, are available to answer questions from the media, such as:

• What are the potential costs of non-compliance for individuals and corporations?
• What type of class actions might be expected in Canada?

2) Proposed securities changes: more flexibility for the "no prospectus" option?

The Canadian Securities Administrators (the "CSA", the body representing provincial securities commissions) is examining ways to increase the flexibility of who and when prospectus need to be filed.

The CSA is asking stakeholders (including investors, issuers, dealers and legal and other advisors) for their opinions and for feedback by February 29, 2012. Ottawa lawyer Charles Lynch, a member of Fasken Martineau's Corporate/commercial practice group, is available to answer questions from the media, such as:

• How will this new rule affect the way companies raise funds and sell shares?
• How significant would this change be for future IPOs?

Members of the media who would like to speak to Leslie Milton, Peter Mantas or Charles Lynch can contact Mathieu Rompré, media relations specialist, at 613 236 3882.

About Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP

Fasken Martineau is a leading international business law and litigation firm. With over 675 lawyers, the firm has offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa, Montréal, Québec City, London, Paris and Johannesburg. For additional information, please visit the firm's website at www.fasken.com.