BCSC Executive Director's Bulletin: Securities regulator gives notice of a
hearing into alleged illegal insider trading

VANCOUVER, Dec. 8 /CNW/ - The executive director of the British Columbia Securities Commission has issued a notice of hearing alleging that a Penticton man obtained undisclosed information about a takeover from his brother, and used it to buy shares in a publicly traded company.

The notice of hearing says that in March 2009, Randall George Kowalchuk learned from his brother Richard, a broker for CIBC World Markets Inc. in Alberta, that a company was going to acquire Eveready Inc.

The notice says that Randall Kowalchuk purchased a total of 7,000 shares in Eveready, an Alberta-based issuer that listed its shares on the Toronto Stock Exchange, at various prices through his wife's trading accounts on April 13, 14, and 15, 2009.

The news of the takeover of Eveready was not generally disclosed until April 29, 2009.

The notice alleges that:

• The circumstances under which Randall Kowalchuk learned of the takeover put him in a special relationship with Eveready.
• Randall Kowalchuk contravened securities laws when he conducted trades while in a special relationship with Eveready and with the knowledge of a material fact before it had been generally disclosed.

These allegations have not been proven. Counsel for the executive director will apply to set dates for a hearing into the allegations before a panel of commissioners on Jan 12, 2011.

The B.C. Securities Commission is the independent provincial government agency responsible for regulating trading in securities within the province. You may view the notice of hearing on our website, www.bcsc.bc.ca. If you have questions, contact Ken Gracey, media relations, 604-899-6577.

For further information:

Ken Gracey
604-899-6577 or
(Canada) 1-800-373-6393