2. It is impossible to delineate in advance what information will or will not be considered "material" to MID. Under Canadian securities legislation, information is "material" if it significantly affects, or may be reasonably expected to have a significant effect on, the market price or value of any of MID's securities. Under U.S. federal securities laws, information is "material" if there is a substantial likelihood that a reasonable shareholder or other investor would consider it important in making an investment decision regarding MID's securities. While the obligation is generally to disclose material information immediately, there will necessarily be a period of time during which MID is preparing to make this disclosure when some MID Personnel will be aware of that information. Any such material information which has not been disseminated in a manner which makes it available to the public generally would constitute "Material Non-Public Information". Examples of Material Non-Public Information include, without limitation, previously undisclosed information concerning MID and/or MEC regarding (i) revenues, income or earnings per share, (ii) forecasts or projections (including those covering one or more of revenues, SG&A, income, earnings per share or proposed transactions or developments), (iii) significant mergers, acquisitions, dispositions, tender offers or takeover bids, joint ventures or changes in assets, (iv) changes in control of MID or MEC, (v) changes in debt ratings, (vi) significant write-downs of assets or additions to reserves for bad debts or contingent liabilities, (vii) liquidity problems, (viii) significant developments regarding material tenants, partners, contractors or suppliers, including the entering into or loss of significant contracts, (ix) bankruptcies or receiverships, (x) changes in the board of directors or executive management, (xi) changes in the Auditors or the Auditors' audit report to the shareholders, (xii) significant events regarding MID's securities (such as defaults on senior securities, calls of securities for redemption, repurchase plans, stock splits or changes in dividends, changes in the rights of security holders, public or private issuances and sales of additional securities, and the like), (xiii) significant litigation or other contingencies, including warranty claims, (xiv) significant investigations by government bodies, (xv) significant collective bargaining agreements or significant labour disputes, and (xvi) borrowing of a significant amount of funds. Note that this list is merely illustrative and not exhaustive and that what is considered "material" or "significant" depends on the facts of each situation. A list of the current outstanding equity securities of MID is included at the end of this Policy.
3. The decision about whether information is considered Material Non-Public Information and what action should be taken so that the necessary disclosure will be made in accordance with all legal and stock exchange requirements must only be made by the Disclosure Team (described below). If MID Personnel become aware of information that may be considered Material Non-Public Information, such MID Personnel should advise the relevant immediate supervisor or a member of the Disclosure Team so that a proper determination can be made about whether the information should be publicly disclosed.
4. MID disseminates material information broadly to the market in accordance with all applicable legal, regulatory and stock exchange requirements, subject to the provisions of paragraph 12 of this Policy. MID does not disclose such information selectively to certain groups or individuals, such as analysts or institutional investors, before it has been disclosed to the public. This type of disclosure, often referred to as "selective disclosure", is both improper and illegal and constitutes a violation of this Policy.
10. Subject to the specific provisions detailed below regarding the disclosure of quarterly financial information and to paragraph 12 of this Policy, all Material Non-Public Information pertaining to MID should be first disclosed to the public either (i) by means of a widely disseminated press release, or (ii) by another method reasonably expected to effect a broad and non-exclusionary distribution of information to the public, i.e., pre-announced webcast or open conference call. The Market Surveillance department of the TSX and the relevant department at the NYSE must generally be advised prior to the dissemination of any Material Non-Public Information, including providing a copy of any press release. This will allow the stock exchanges to determine whether a trading halt is necessary if the dissemination will occur during trading hours.
11. Disclosure must include any information the omission of which would make the rest of the disclosure misleading. In addition, unfavourable Material Non-Public Information must be disclosed as promptly and completely as favourable Material Non-Public Information. In the case of the disclosure of Material Non-Public Information which, according to the applicable legal rules, constitutes a material change for MID, MID shall file, in addition to the press release as provided above, (a) a material change report with the OSC and other applicable Canadian securities regulatory authorities as soon as practicable and in any event within ten days of the date on which the change occurs, (b) such information and documents with the SEC as required pursuant to the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended and (c) such other forms, reports and information as the OSC, SEC or other applicable regulatory agencies or stock exchanges may require from time to time.
12. In certain cases, the Disclosure Team may determine that disclosure of Material Non-Public Information would be unduly detrimental to MID (for example, if disclosure would prejudice negotiations in a corporate transaction). In this case, MID will continue to keep such Material Non- Public Information confidential and, to the extent required, MID will file with the OSC and other applicable Canadian securities commissions a confidential material change report. At least every ten days thereafter the decision to keep the information confidential must be reviewed by MID and at that time MID must either notify the applicable securities commission in writing of its decision to keep the report confidential (to the extent required) or disseminate the Material Non-Public Information pursuant to paragraph 10 of this Policy. During the confidentiality period, MID will take the necessary precautions to maintain the confidentiality of the information, including the execution of written confidentiality agreements with any third party recipient of the information.
Disclosure Of Quarterly Earnings Information
13. Quarterly earnings information regarding MID shall be disclosed in the following manner:
First, a press release containing a discussion of MID's quarterly earnings results shall be submitted to the appropriate newswire services for dissemination in Canada and the U.S. as approved by the COO, CFO, General Counsel or Corporate Secretary. Second, advance notice of the time, date and connection instructions for the quarterly earnings conference call and/or webcast will be:
(i) released in advance (generally not less than five (5) business days, but in any event not less than 18 hours prior to the conference call and/or webcast) or, where not released in advance, included in the quarterly earnings press release which is generally issued on the morning of the conference call and/or webcast, and
(ii) posted on MID's website, generally not less than five (5) business days prior to the quarterly earnings release. Third, the quarterly earnings conference call should be broadcast live on a medium (i.e. open conference call or webcast) that will allow the public, without charge, to listen in on the call, and, to the extent reasonably possible, provision should be made for a taped replay of the conference call to be made available for a number of days thereafter. Assuming that these steps have been followed, the information contained in the quarterly earnings press release may be discussed freely on the scheduled conference call.
14. No MID Personnel should ever discuss MID's income, funds from operations or earnings per share information (including giving any "guidance" or "comfort" on securities analyst estimates or reports) with any person, except in accordance with the provisions of this Policy.
Dealing with the Press, General Media and Industry Communications, Rumours and Leaks
15. All press releases to be issued by or on behalf of MID or its subsidiaries (including its public subsidiary, MEC) must be forwarded, at least 48 hours (or as promptly as practicable) prior to issuance, to the COO, CFO, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for their review and approval prior to release.
16. This Policy acknowledges that MID communicates on a regular basis in the ordinary course of business with its customers, suppliers, partners, tenants, consultants, contractors and other third parties other than investors and shareholders, by means of media communications and otherwise. Such communications are not, in and of themselves, subject to this Policy except in those instances where such communications involve the dissemination or discussion of Material Non-Public Information. In the event of any doubt as to whether or not information in a particular instance constitutes Material Non-Public Information, such information will be referred to the COO, CFO, General Counsel or Corporate Secretary for consideration prior to distribution or discussion.
17. If any individual (including a securities industry professional, MID security holder, government official, media representative, etc.) contacts MID Personnel seeking information regarding MID, that individual must notify the outsider that in accordance with this Policy, all such inquiries are to be directed to the CEO, COO or CFO or, in their absence, the General Counsel or Corporate Secretary. If such inquiry relates to a market rumour, the Authorized Spokesperson should, subject to legal advice to the contrary, advise the outsider that MID has a Policy that it does not comment on market rumours. If any applicable securities regulatory authority or stock exchange requests that MID make a definitive statement in response to a market rumour that is causing significant fluctuation in MID's listed securities, MID will consider whether to make a Policy exception and respond to the rumour.
18. If any MID Personnel becomes aware that there has been an inadvertent disclosure of Material Non-Public Information, he or she should immediately contact a member of the Disclosure Team. Upon being contacted under such circumstances, the member of the Disclosure Team shall (in consultation with MID's legal advisors, if considered appropriate) develop a plan to make public disclosure of the information in accordance with the provisions of this Policy and shall use his or her best efforts to execute such plan as soon as practicable, but in any event within the time period, if any, prescribed by applicable law.
19. Each Authorized Spokesperson should, prior to any scheduled interaction with securities industry professionals or MID's security holders, take an inventory of what information relating to MID or its subsidiaries (in addition to the information listed in paragraph 2 of this Policy) might reasonably be considered to be Material Non-Public Information. Prior to the scheduled interaction, the Authorized Spokesperson should decide whether to (i) keep the information "off-limits" for the interaction with the outsider(s) or (ii) disclose the information publicly by one of the means mentioned in clauses (i) or (ii) of paragraph 10 of this Policy. All speeches or talks at a public forum or an event where a member of the media could have access (other than industry conferences where Material Non-Public Information is not anticipated to be disclosed or discussed) must be approved in advance by the COO, CFO, General Counsel or Corporate Secretary. No Material Non-Public Information may be released in any forum unless approved by an Authorized Spokesperson and accompanied by wide public dissemination in accordance with this Policy. Participants in industry conferences are encouraged to check with the COO, CFO, General Counsel or Corporate Secretary if the subject matter of an industry conference appears to be sensitive or controversial.
20. All "road show" and other similar materials (including analyst presentations) to be distributed to or discussed with securities industry professionals or MID's security holders (or prospective security holders) must, prior to the time of their use, be sent to the COO, CFO, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for their review and approval prior to use.
Analyst Reports
21. MID may review, upon request, analysts' models or reports subject to the applicable restrictions of the OSC, SEC, TSX or NYSE or other applicable securities regulatory authority or stock exchange. Any review will be conducted by the CEO, COO, CFO, General Counsel or Corporate Secretary and any comments will be limited to those portions of the model or report that constitute statements of historical fact or a factual description of MID's business or which discuss information which is not material or has otherwise been publicly disclosed. An Authorized Spokesperson may correct factual errors in analysts' reports and models, provided the factual information has already been broadly disseminated to the public or is not material. In no event shall the Authorized Spokesperson or any other MID Personnel publicly comment on, confirm, deny, or guide any forward-looking statements or financial projections contained in such reports. Analyst reports are proprietary products of the analyst's firm. Re-circulating a report by an analyst may be viewed as an endorsement by MID of the report. For these reasons, careful consideration should be given before any analyst reports are recirculated to persons outside of MID or to employees of MID, and it must always be made clear that the report is being provided for information purposes only and not as an endorsement of the views expressed therein. MID may post on its website a complete list, regardless of the recommendation, of all the investment firms and analysts who provide research coverage on MID. Such list will not include links to analysts' or any other third party websites or publications.
Continuous Disclosure Record
22. When MID has in the past offered securities to the public, it has issued a prospectus in accordance with applicable laws. Such a prospectus sets out "full, true and plain disclosure" of the material facts relating to the securities issued by MID. This means that the document does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact nor does it omit to state a material fact required to be stated or that is necessary to be stated to make a statement not misleading in light of the circumstances in which it was made. If MID offers securities in the future, and to the extent required by applicable laws, a similar document will be prepared and will also contain "full, true and plain disclosure" of the material facts relating to the securities issued by MID.
23. As a public entity, MID must provide certain information to its security holders, to securities regulators and to the stock exchanges on which it is listed on a regular basis. The CEO and the CFO are ultimately accountable for MID's public disclosure. They have supervised the design of disclosure controls and procedures in connection with the creation of that disclosure. The Disclosure Team is responsible for the implementation of these controls and procedures.
24. If any MID Personnel is asked to review a continuous disclosure document of MID, that person must consider all information about MID of which he or she is aware in order to adequately assess whether the disclosure being reviewed is accurate, fails to state a material piece of information or is misleading or inaccurate in any way. MID Personnel must bring to the attention of the Disclosure Team any information that they know or reasonably believe to be misleading or inaccurate in a continuous disclosure document. MID Personnel should also advise the Disclosure Team if they believe that a continuous disclosure document omits to state a fact or information that may be material to an understanding of the results of operations of MID or the performance of MID as a whole.
25. All electronic and other regulatory filings made by or on behalf of MID, including without limitation, all periodic and other filings required to be made with applicable securities regulatory authorities and stock exchanges, shall be prepared under the supervision of the General Counsel or Corporate Secretary.
Forward-looking Information
26. If MID decides to disclose forward-looking information or financial projections in continuous disclosure documents, speeches, webcasts, conference calls, etc., the following guidelines shall be observed:
(a) The information, if deemed material, will be broadly disseminated (for example, via press release) prior to any other type of disclosure.
(b) The information will be clearly identified as forward-looking.
(c) MID will identify all material assumptions used in the preparation of the forward-looking information.
(d) The information will be accompanied by MID's then current "Forward Looking Information Disclaimer" together with a reference to MID's current "Risk Factors" disclosure. Notwithstanding this disclaimer, should subsequent events prove past statements about current trends to be materially off target, MID may choose to update prior disclosures explaining the reasons for the difference. In this case, MID will update its guidance on the anticipated impact, if any, on revenue and earnings (or other key metrics).
Website Disclosure
27. Disclosure of Non-Public Material Information on MID's website currently does not in and of itself constitute adequate public disclosure of such information. As such, Material Non-Public Information which has not otherwise been disclosed in accordance with one or more of the methods noted in paragraph 10 of this Policy, shall not be posted on MID's website.
28. The COO, CFO, General Counsel or Corporate Secretary shall be responsible for reviewing and approving in advance all financial and other information to be posted on MID's website so as to ensure the accuracy, completeness and currency of the information posted thereon. MID's website shall at all times incorporate by reference the most current version of MID's "Risk Factors" disclosure as contained in MID's public disclosure record. The website shall also set forth in a clear and prominent manner, a current version of MID's forward-looking statement disclaimer. The COO, CFO, General Counsel or Corporate Secretary must approve all links from MID's website to third party websites. As noted above, in no event shall MID's website post or hyperlink to analysts reports or any other similar third party information regarding MID.
Related Policies
29. Please see MID's Insider Trading and Reporting Policy for additional prohibitions relating to trades in MID securities including those using Material Non-Public Information, a copy of which may be obtained from the General Counsel or Corporate Secretary.
It is critical that all MID Personnel adhere to this Policy. If you have any doubts as to your responsibilities under this Policy, please seek clarification and guidance from the COO, CFO, General Counsel or Corporate Secretary before you act. Do not try to resolve uncertainties on your own.
Dated: October 1, 2004; revised as of October 4, 2006, July 3, 2007 and November 7, 2008.
Notes
1. For the purposes of the Policy, Frank Stronach is MID's Chairman, Dennis Mills is MID's Vice-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Don Cameron is MID's Chief Operating Officer, and Rocco Liscio is MID's Chief Financial Officer.
2. As November 7, 2008, MID's outstanding equity securities consist of its Class A Subordinate Voting Shares and Class B Shares.