Ontario extends repo facility exemption

The Ontario Securities Commission extended, by 18 months, a rule letting investment funds tap the Bank of Canada’s contingency repo facility. Identified as OSC Rule 81-931, the rule was issued on July 21, 2026 and extends the prior exemption, Blanket Order 81-930, which has provided fund relief from specific repurchase-transaction requirements since July 24, 2025.

This relief exists to let funds draw on the Bank of Canada’s Contingent Term Repo Facility, or CTRF, if the central bank ever activates it. The CTRF is designed to keep the financial system steady during severe, market-wide liquidity stress.

Without this extension, the original blanket order would have expired on January 24, 2027. The Ontario Securities Commission flagged this as a potential unlevel playing field, as equivalent blanket orders in other provinces have no expiry date.

The new rule pushes the relief out to July 24, 2028, allowing any investment fund with exposure to Canadian-dollar money markets or fixed income securities to continue using the CTRF as a liquidity backstop if conditions get rough.

The Ontario Securities Commission has published this rule alongside a separate CSA proposal aimed at making the relief permanent. It has been handed to Ontario’s Minister of Finance, who can approve, reject, or send it back for further review.

Assuming approval, the rule will take effect on January 24, 2027, the same day the current exemption would otherwise have expired. For fund managers, this means the compliance relief in place since mid-2025 will continue without interruption.