The Ontario Securities Commission today approved a settlement between OSC staff and Sally Daub, former general counsel for ATI Technologies Inc.

OSC staff had alleged that Daub had materially misled them in a response to a written request made on Aug. 1, 2000 for a detailed chronology of events leading up to an announcement on May 24, 2000, that ATI Technologies would experience a loss for the third quarter 2000. The letter included a request for the earliest date that ATI was aware of a loss for Q3 and a list of any subsequent conversations or meetings concerning the financial report for Q3.

On Aug. 30, 2000, Daub responded to the request in a letter signed by her. In the letter, Daub identified May 16, 2000 as the earliest material meeting, communication, event or development leading up to the disclosure on May 24, 2000.

OSC staff have obtained evidence that revealed that Daub did not intentionally mislead staff. This evidence also revealed that Daub reasonably relied in good faith on information provided to her by others in the preparation and forwarding of her letter of August 30, 2000 to staff. Daub acknowledged, however, that in hindsight, she should have taken further steps to confirm the information contained in her letter.

Given the substantial mitigating circumstances that existed in this case, OSC staff joined counsel for Daub in recommending a reprimand and a modest contribution toward costs in the amount of $5,000. A panel of the OSC approved the settlement.