The upcoming Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) roundtable examining the question of a statutory fiduciary duty for advisors aims to bring together the two sides of the contentious debate.

The CSA said Monday that next week’s meeting will focus on two major issues — whether dealers and advisors should be subject to a best interest standard when providing advice to retail clients; and, what other policy options should they consider in addition to, or instead of, a statutory best interest standard.

The meeting, which is slated for July 23 at the offices of the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC), is the third in a series of roundtables held by the OSC this year to consider issues raised in a discussion paper issued by the CSA late last year exploring the concept of a fiduciary duty for financial advisors.

The CSA hasn’t committed itself to adopting such a duty, but it is exploring the idea through the formal comment period on its paper, and a series of roundtables this summer hosted by the OSC.

The first meeting, which was held in June, focused on the views of investors. The second meeting, also in June, delved into the industry’s viewpoint. This third, and final, meeting will hear various aspects of the debate.

In general, investor advocates favour the idea of imposing a fiduciary duty on advisors as a way to mitigate conflicts and to reflect the fact that many investors already assume that advisors work in their best interests. The industry has generally opposed the idea as costly and unnecessary, and warns that it could lead to a reduction in the accessibility of advice.

For this upcoming session, the CSA has selected panellists to represent various views of the debate, from the investor, industry, legal and academic perspectives. The roundtable will be moderated by OSC vice chairman Jim Turner. The panellists on the agenda include: Connie Craddock, former vice president public affairs at the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC), and current member of the OSC’s independent Investor Advisory Panel (IAP); Anita Anand, the IAP’s first chair, and professor of law at the University of Toronto; Jim Kershaw, senior vice president and regional manager, TD Wealth Private Investment Advice; and John Fabello, partner at Torys LLP.

The session is open to the public, but space is limited. Regulators are asking those wishing to attend to indicate their interest by July 18. The OSC plans to post a transcript of the meeting to its website following the panel session.