The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) announced on Thursday that it will hold a series of roundtable hearings in five cities across Canada in early December to “further explore issues” into a set of proposals designed to enhance client/financial advisor relationships, including the introduction of a possible “best interest” standard, that were raised in a consultation paper published this past April.
The Ontario Securities Commission will hold the first session on Dec. 6 in Toronto, followed by sessions in Halifax on Dec. 7, Montreal on Dec. 8, and Calgary on Dec. 9, which will be hosted by the local regulators in those provinces. The CSA indicates that the B.C. Securities Commission will also hold a hearing in Vancouver, but it has yet to confirm a date.
“At the time the consultation paper was published, we indicated our intentions to convene roundtable sessions to further explore the issues raised in the comment letters received, in order to inform our next steps,” says Louis Morisset, the CSA’s chairman and president and CEO of the Autorité des marchés financiers, in a statement.
The local provincial regulators that are hosting the meetings will provide further detail, including how to participate, closer to the actual event dates, the CSA notes.
“We strongly encourage stakeholders who have not already done so to participate in the initiative by providing comments on the consultation paper,” Morisset says.
The deadline for responding to the consultation paper is Sept. 30. The paper proposes a series of reforms to key areas, including suitability requirements, know your client, know your product, proficiency, and regulating the titles that advisors can use.
The regulators, apart from the BCSC, are also consulting on a proposed best interest standard, which would create an overall obligation to put clients’ interests first.
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