The Toronto Stock Exchange has extended a helping hand to companies listing their stock on its main and junior TSX Venture boards, offering temporary relief from some listing requirements.

The changes, which will last until the end of next March, “are designed to assist issuers during the current extraordinary market conditions,” TMX Group, the company that owns the market operator, said Monday in a release.

“We are very aware of the difficult market environment currently facing many of the companies listed on our equity exchanges,” said Kevan Cowan, TMX Group head of equities.

“Both exchanges are committed to assisting their issuers through this difficult economic period.”

Under the temporary measures, the TSX will allow issuers to increase the amount of stock buybacks under normal, has doubled the remedial review period for delistings to 210 days from 120 days to up to 210 days, and will consider shorter or longer periods to establish a “market price” for the purposes of pricing private placements.

The exchange operator also reminded issuers that financial hardship exemptions from security-holder approval requirements are available.

On the junior Venture Exchange, relief measures will include more flexibility in how existing continued listing requirements are applied to listed issuers, more time given to capital pool companies to complete qualifying transactions and allowing the minimum issuance price per security in some transactions to be less than five cents, but not below market price.