About
A cease trade order (CTO) is an order issued by a provincial or territorial securities commission or similar regulatory body against a company for failing to meet disclosure requirements, such as filing a quarterly or annual financial statement, or as a result of an enforcement action that involves an investigation of wrongdoing.

The order prohibits trading in that company's securities. In some cases, only the company's senior management and insiders must stop trading in the security. At other times, residents in the province where the CTO was issued are unable to trade in the securities of that company until the CTO is revoked.

Who issues cease trade orders and why?
Securities commissions have sole authority to issue CTOs. The securities commissions oversee securities regulation in their respective provinces or territories and require publicly traded companies to disclose important 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 securities commissions, and must also send this information to shareholders. Companies must also reveal details about other significant events or developments - such as takeover bids, acquisitions and changes to the board of directors - which may potentially affect the value of the company's shares once the information is made public. When a company fails to do so, or is subject to an enforcement action that involves an investigation of wrongdoing, a CTO may be issued.

How long does a CTO last? How will I know the status of a CTO?
A CTO may remain in effect for several days, or for an indefinite period of time. A CTO's status can be 'active', 'partially revoked' or 'revoked':

• An active CTO means that the cease trade order is currently in force, and trading in the company's securities is forbidden.
• A partially revoked CTO means that the CTO prohibits trading by fewer persons than when it was originally issued.
• A revoked CTO means that the CTO is no longer in force and that trading in the company's securities can resume.

The securities commissions follow different practices for removing a CTO. In this database, the term "Revoked" means the removal of the CTO. The CTO may have expired, lapsed, or may have been revoked by order of one of the commissions. [originally on main search screens]

How do I find cease trade orders?
You can determine if a company has been issued a CTO by a provincial securities commission, or you can check the status of an existing CTO, by searching the Issuer Cease Trade Order Database. The database contains the names of all issuers of securities whose securities have been recently or previously cease-traded by a securities commission in Canada in the regions indicated. The Non-Issuer CTO database contains individuals who have been ordered to cease trading in certain circumstances.