Saw this on the BCSC website. Pretty interesting:

A cease trade order (CTO) is an order issued by a provincial or territorial securities regulatory authority or similar regulatory body against a company or an individual. Orders are issued for reasons such as failing to meet disclosure requirements or as a result of an enforcement action that involves an investigation of wrongdoing.
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There are two types of orders. A company order is an order which prohibits residents in the province where the CTO was issued from trading in the securities of that company. A management cease trade order (MCTO) names specific members of a company's senior management and insiders (including the company if it owns securities) and prohibits them from trading in the securities of a company.

Who issues cease trade orders and why?

Securities regulatory authorities have sole authority to issue CTOs. The securities regulatory authorities and tribunals oversee securities regulation in their respective provinces or territories and require publicly traded companies to disclose material information to the public as soon as possible. For example, publicly traded companies must file copies of quarterly and annual financial statements and management's discussion and analysis (MD&A) with provincial and territorial securities regulatory authorities, and must also send this information to shareholders. Companies must also disclose material events or developments - such as takeover bids and merger and acquisitions, which may affect the value of the company's shares. When a company fails to do so, a CTO against either the company or certain individuals may be issued. In addition, a CTO may be issued against companies or individuals who may be subject to an enforcement action.

Presently, all equity and fixed income marketplaces in Canada have retained the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) as their regulation services provider. Under the rules adopted by IIROC, if a securities regulator issues a CTO with respect to an issuer whose securities are traded on a marketplace, IIROC imposes a regulatory halt on trading of those securities on all marketplaces for which IIROC acts as a the regulatory services provider. Such action is taken whether or not the CSA regulator that issued the CTO is the principal regulator of the issuer. Once the halt is imposed by IIROC, no person subject to these rules may trade those securities on any marketplace in Canada, over-the counter or on a foreign organized regulated market. The Montreal Exchange regulates and oversees the options market. When a CTO is issued, the Montreal Exchange and IIROC coordinate their decisions to halt trading of securities and options on these marketplaces simultaneously.

How do I find cease trade orders?

You can find information about cease trade orders by searching the Cease Trade Order database. The Company CTO Database contains the names of all companies that issue securities whose securities have been recently or previously cease-traded by a securities regulator in Canada in the jurisdiction indicated. The Other CTO Database contains individuals or companies who have been ordered to cease trading in certain circumstances.

Some helpful hints for searching the CTO database:

• To search for both a Company CTO and an Other CTO at the same time, use the Advanced Search and select both Company and Other under “Type”.
• To get the best results when searching for a specific name, only input the company name (don’t include “Inc.”, “Co.”, etc.) or only input the last name of the individual.

How long does a CTO last? How will I know the status of a CTO?

A CTO may remain in effect until a certain date, or for an indefinite period of time. A CTO's status will be listed as either 'Issued', 'Amended', ‘Expired’ or 'Revoked':

• An issued CTO means that the cease trade order is currently in force.
• An amended CTO means that the original order has been changed and the changed order is currently in force.
• An expired CTO means that the original order has expired and is no longer in force.
• A revoked CTO means that the CTO has been lifted and is no longer in force.