Fair Value Measurements

12 Months Ended

Feb. 28, 2018

FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS

For a description of the fair value hierarchy, see Note 3.

Recurring Fair Value Measurements

The carrying amounts of the Company’s cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, other receivables, accounts payable and accrued liabilities approximate fair value due to their short maturities.

In determining the fair value of investments held (other than those classified as Level 3), the Company primarily relies on an independent third-party valuator for the fair valuation of securities. Pricing inputs used by the independent third-party valuator are generally received from one primary vendor. The pricing inputs are reviewed for completeness and accuracy, within a set tolerance level, on a daily basis by the independent third-party valuator. The Company also reviews and understands the inputs used in the valuation process and assesses the pricing of the securities for reasonableness after conducting its own internal collection of quoted prices from brokers. Fair values for all investment categories provided by the independent third-party valuator that are in excess of 0.5% from the fair values determined by the Company are communicated to the independent third party valuator for consideration of reasonableness. The independent third-party valuator considers the information provided by the Company before determining whether a change in the original pricing is warranted.

The Company’s investments (other than those classified as Level 3) largely consist of securities issued by major corporate and banking organizations, the provincial and federal governments of Canada, international government banking organizations and the United States Department of the Treasury, and are all investment grade. The Company also holds a limited amount of equity securities following the initial public offering by the issuer of a previous cost-based investment.

For a description of how the fair value of currency forward contracts and currency option contracts and the fair value of the Debentures (as defined in Note 10) have been determined, see the “Derivative financial instruments” and “Convertible debentures” accounting policies in Note 1.

The following table summarizes the changes in fair value of the Company’s Level 3 assets for the years ended February 28, 2018 and February 28, 2017:



	Level 3
Balance at February 29, 2016	$	21
Principal repayments	(1		)
Balance at February 28, 2017	20
Principal repayments	—
Balance at February 28, 2018	$	20

The Company recognizes transfers in and out of levels within the fair value hierarchy at the end of the reporting period in which the actual event or change in circumstance occurred. There were no significant transfers in or out of Level 3 assets during the years ended February 28, 2018 or February 28, 2017.

The Company’s Level 3 assets measured on a recurring basis include auction rate securities as well as corporate notes/bonds consisting of securities received in a payment-in-kind distribution from a former structured investment vehicle.

The auction rate securities are valued using a discounted cash flow method incorporating both observable and unobservable inputs. The unobservable inputs utilized in the valuation are the estimated weighted average life of each security based on its contractual details and expected pay down schedule based upon the underlying collateral, the value of the underlying collateral that would be realized in the event of a waterfall event, an estimate of the likelihood of a waterfall event, an estimate of the likelihood of a permanent auction suspension, and an estimate of the likelihood of the securities being called at par. Significant changes in these unobservable inputs would result in significantly different fair value measurements. Generally, a change in the assumption used for the probability of a waterfall event is accompanied by a directionally opposite change in the assumption used for the probability of a permanent auction suspension. A waterfall event occurs if the funded reserves of the securities become insufficient to make the interest payments, resulting in the disbursement of the securities’ underlying collateral to the security holders.

The following table presents the significant unobservable inputs used in the fair value measurement of the auction rate securities, as well as the impact on the fair value measurement resulting from a significant increase in each input in isolation. A significant decrease in each input would produce the opposite impact as shown below:

As at February 28, 2018

Fair

Value

Valuation

Technique

Unobservable Input

Range (weighted average)

Effect of Significant

Increase in

Input on Fair Value

Auction rate securities

Discounted cash flow

Weighted average life

15 years

Decrease

Collateral value (as a % of fair value)

152%

Increase

Probability of waterfall event

10%

Increase

Probability of permanent suspension of auction

Decrease

Probability of being called at par

25%

Increase

- Definition

The entire disclosure for the fair value of financial instruments (as defined), including financial assets and financial liabilities (collectively, as defined), and the measurements of those instruments as well as disclosures related to the fair value of non-financial assets and liabilities. Such disclosures about the financial instruments, assets, and liabilities would include: (1) the fair value of the required items together with their carrying amounts (as appropriate); (2) for items for which it is not practicable to estimate fair value, disclosure would include: (a) information pertinent to estimating fair value (including, carrying amount, effective interest rate, and maturity, and (b) the reasons why it is not practicable to estimate fair value; (3) significant concentrations of credit risk including: (a) information about the activity, region, or economic characteristics identifying a concentration, (b) the maximum amount of loss the entity is exposed to based on the gross fair value of the related item, (c) policy for requiring collateral or other security and information as to accessing such collateral or security, and (d) the nature and brief description of such collateral or security; (4) quantitative information about market risks and how such risks are managed; (5) for items measured on both a recurring and nonrecurring basis information regarding the inputs used to develop the fair value measurement; and (6) for items presented in the financial statement for which fair value measurement is elected: (a) information necessary to understand the reasons for the election, (b) discussion of the effect of fair value changes on earnings, (c) a description of [similar groups] items for which the election is made and the relation thereof to the balance sheet, the aggregate carrying value of items included in the balance sheet that are not eligible for the election; (7) all other required (as defined) and desired information.

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