Enabling Compliance

Providing compliance and enforcement guidance is a voluntary service provided by MACD. MACD may decline to provide the requested guidance under certain circumstances. An Applicant submitting a CEG Request will be notified whether MACD will provide the requested guidance.

An applicant submitting a CEG Request may be asked to provide additional information regarding the request.

If MACD advises that it will provide the requested guidance, the Applicant:

• Will be consulted during the development of the draft guidance; and
• Will be provided with the opportunity to review and provide comment on the draft guidance.

MACD may, on the basis of the information provided in the CEG Request, initiate other actions, such as an investigation into a potential breach of the market rules.

MACD may, at its discretion, publish the guidance developed. Any published guidance will comply with the confidentiality provisions of the market rules.

Related Information

• Compliance and Enforcement Guidance (CEG) Request Form
• Issued Compliance and Enforcement Guidance

MACD may, upon request from any person or on its own initiative, provide compliance and enforcement guidance with respect to specific provisions of the market rules and manuals. This guidance represents, on a forward looking basis, MACD’s view as to the meaning of that specific provision and its potential application to compliance and other enforcement determinations. Guidance provided is intended to foster compliance with the market rules and market manuals.

There are three types of compliance and enforcement guidance:

Rule Interpretation

This type of guidance can involve explanations of the market rule’s language in order to explain the market rule’s basic parameters, such as whether it is mandatory or permissive, which entity is subject to the market rule and the legal thresholds that would have to be met for compliance. There is no consideration of specific facts, historical or prospective, relating to actions, events or conduct that would be governed by that market rule.

Application and Compliance Guidance

This type of guidance includes a Rule Interpretation of a market rule as defined above, plus:

a.  the application of the market rule in regard to specific planned, potential or hypothetical facts, events or conduct presented by the Applicant; and

b.  a conditional compliance assessment in relation to the specific planned, potential or hypothetical facts, events or conduct presented by the Applicant.

Enforcement Guidance

This includes an Application and Compliance Guidance as defined above, as well as guidance related to the likely or conditional MACD enforcement decision and/or action in cases where the Application and Compliance Guidance concludes that non-compliance with the market rule would likely be determined.