The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

FEBRUVARy 7 Legislature Has Duty To Assist P t O SSIS rospectors, Says Attorney--General # q ® T Conant Presses Securities Amendment 'Act # Which Would Free Small Syndicates From # # # # # Requirements to Registee With Commission BILL IS BACKED BY OPPOSITION LEADER The Legislature had a duty to en--{economic structure,." said Mr. Con-- courage and assist prospecting and |ant. "This is indicated by the actual mining development, Hon. Gordon | figures, which show that in 1938 the Conant, Attorney--General, stressed | value of all minerals produced in yesterday in moving second reading Ontario amounted to $219,025,000, to the Securities Amendment Act, and gold alone $101.945,000. It is esti-- which, if passed, trees smail syndi-- / mated that for 1939 the figures will cates of the requirements to register | be $235,000,000 for all metals and with the Securities Commission, | $112,500,000 for gold." Under the amendment, he said,| The early stages of prospecting any syndicate agreement in which | and development are finaarced large-- the capital does not exceed $10,000 |ly by syndicates, said the Attorney-- may be filed in the office of the General. Prior to May, 1937, repre-- Provincial Secretary or any mining | sentations were made to the Securi-- recorder. Thereupon the lmhili'y'nos Commission that one of the of each member of the syndicate is | weaknesses of such syndicates was limited to the extent provided hy:the element of individual liability the terms of the agreement. An-- | of each unit holder for all the liabil-- other amending clause rules that |ities of the syndicate. the securities of such a syndicate With a view to overcoming this, may be sold without registration | by an Order--in--Council passed in with the Securities Commission May, 1937, provision was made for Conservative Leader Drew, a for--| the Incorporation under the Com-- mer Securities Commissioner, sug-- panies Act of mining syndicates gested that the entire act should beawith a capitalization not exoceding 'rvm;nmzm!. While voicing approval | £35,000 and fees for such incorpora-- | of the amendment, so far as it went, | tion fixed at ©25,. as compared with he believed the trend in the regula-- | the former minimum fee of $100. tion of securities should be directed | _"This provision," said Mr. Conant, to allowing greater freedom in the | "has undoubtedly met the situation selling of securities, while placing | in part, at least, and 266 such min-- 'nn the vendor the onus of disclos-- t ing syndicates have been formed l ing full facts. On the law was thb'.\im'o May, 1937. However, it ap-- ) responsibility of placing sure and | pears that further and even less ) strict penalties in event that full 'nnnrr\uQ provisions are necessary if I facts were not disclosed for the pro-- | the business is to progress as we tection of the public, he said. '\\")uld like to have it." "The very great importance o{i It was claimed, he added, that | prospecting and preliminary mining | many small syndicates were capital-- development is apparent from the |ized at from $2,500 to $10,000. In fact that mining operations and the | such cases, it was said, the amount wealth created thereby are factors | was ton small to justify the expense of the first magnitude in our whole | of incorporation.