Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) chair David Wilson called for the creation of a common securities regulator in an effort to strengthen Canada’s securities enforcement system and provide better protection to investors and the capital markets.
“While not a silver bullet, there is no doubt that a common regulator would improve enforcement in Canada,” he said, in a speech to the Economic Club of Toronto. “The Government of Ontario and the OSC’s minister—Finance Minister Dwight Duncan—have expressed strong support for a common securities regulator. I fully support them on this issue.”
Wilson outlined a six-point plan he believes would bring clarity to Canada’s current securities enforcement structure commonly referred to as the “enforcement mosaic.” “The overall securities enforcement mosaic is, in its way, very Canadian: complex, and heavily reliant on collaboration and cooperation,” he said. “Can this complex, Byzantine structure be changed or organized to function better? Yes.”
In addition to a common regulator, Wilson’s plan calls for the study of an investigative summons to compel third-party witnesses to testify in cases of white-collar crime, improved information sharing processes, streamlining the assessment of enforcement cases, sharing of highly-skilled resources, and using existing statutory powers to recoup ill-gotten gains.
“In this country, we have the resources, the skills, and the ideas to make securities regulation more effective,” he said. “Fortunately, I’ve seen the appetite for change within the enforcement mosaic. It seems all we need is the will to make it happen.”
Wilson admitted that the reputation of Canadian securities regulation is not what it should be, but claims it’s a matter of perception. “There is, I think, a common misconception that Canada doesn’t treat securities regulation and enforcement seriously enough, especially when compared to the United States,” he said. “We are making a comparable investment. Nevertheless, there’s a debate about whether resources are used effectively.”
When asked what the OSC is doing to pursue the idea of a single regulatory body, Wilson referred to a 2006 proposal on the idea by a panel led by Toronto lawyer Purdy Crawford. “That blueprint is still on the shelf, available to be reconsidered,” he said. “The matter is really in the hands of the politicians.”
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