It's IntentionalI would have thought that the halt would be lifted by now.
I now believe that the continued halt is intentional, by FGD.
There is only one Cease Trade Order by the OSC and it was dated May 4th, 2018.
In it, the following were listed as the reasons for the CTO:
"The Issuer has not filed the following periodic disclosure required by the Legislation:
1. audited annual financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2017;
2. management’s discussion and analysis relating to the audited annual financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2017;
3. certification of the foregoing filings as required by National Instrument 52-109 Certification of Disclosure in Issuers’ Annual and Interim Filings."
All 3 have since been filed, not to mention the 1st and 2nd quarter statements as well.
Despite the mention by FGD that the OSC is "investigating," there is no other Cease Trading Order in existence by the OSC due to "investigations" nor has FGD explicitly stated that the halt is (and continues to be) due to "investigations."
In fact, updated as of this morning: Sep 7, 2018 at 08:04:21 am
The OSC states that the only reason for the continuing halt is:
Code 3: "Failure to pay a fee required by the Act or the regulations."
In other words, the OSC has not published any other reason for the continuing halt. The OSC must get another CTO signed by the "Deputy Director, Corporate Finance Branch" if it is going to continue the halt due to "investigations." The OSC has not done this.
The OSC could have used other codes for the continuing halt, not least of which would be:
Code 2a. Financial statements of the reporting issuer, or the auditors’ report accompanying the financial statements, do not comply with the requirements of NI 51-102 Continuous Disclosure Obligations (NI 51-102), National Instrument 81-106 Investment Fund Continuous Disclosure (NI 81-106) or National Instrument 52-107 Acceptable Accounting Principles, Auditing Standards and Reporting Currency.
However, it's just Code 3.
Also, FGD who has filed all necessary statements, has not officially announced that the halt only continues because of "investigations."
In fact, 8 days ago, FGD wrote:
"The Company is now current with respect to its financial reporting and will be applying to the regulators and applicable exchanges for approval to resume trading."
As per Code 3. FGD has not made payment of the required fee to lift the halt.
I think that FGD is intentionally continuing the halt.
And that is a good thing - as others have said.
Things are cooking behind the scenes and when ready, FGD will pay the required fee and announce big news to coordinate with the halt getting lifted.