These are shares in venture companies which don’t qualify for listing on public exchanges. Most of these stocks can’t be held in a TFSA or RRSP due to CRA rules. You may also receive a message that what you are trying to buy is “Foreign Settled – cannot Trade”. This means the stock trades on an oversees market and we can’t facilitate the transaction for you. If you happen to own one of these stocks and you get that message while trying to sell it, please phone Qtrade at 1.877.787.2330 and an agent will work with our trade desk to try to liquidate it at a cost of $250 U.S.