A hearing panel of the Investment Dealers Association of Canada has expelled a former Calgary broker for engaging in discretionary trading when he was not registered to do so.

Christopher Stewart was employed as a registered representative employed at the Calgary branch of Wolverton Securities Inc.

The IDA panel released its written reasons on July 28, 2005.

The panel determined that Stewart’s registration was suspended by the IDA on Jan. 28, 2002, upon his termination from Wolverton. That fact was relied upon by the panel to find that they had jurisdiction to impose any of the penalties set upon Stewart.

The panel heard that Stewart was disciplined by the Alberta Stock Exchange on July 8, 1999 and by the IDA on April 4, 2002.

As well, on June 7, 2005, the Alberta Securities Commission ordered that Stewart cease trading in securities and be denied all the exemptions contained in Alberta securities laws for a period of 10 years. The order permitted certain limited trading exemptions and Stewart was ordered to pay an administrative penalty of $10,000.

The decision of the ASC was based on a finding that Stewart engaged in discretionary trading when he was not registered to do so. The Commission said “…what we consider to be very serious, in that by engaging in prohibited discretionary trading, Stewart failed in his role as a gatekeeper, a role that is meant to protect the integrity of the capital market more generally.”

The ASC noted that Stewart had already been the subject of the earlier sanctioning proceedings, and that the 1999 Settlement Agreement with the Alberta Stock Exchange involved prohibited trading.

The IDA panel concluded its decision by stating “The Hearing Panel agrees with the conclusions stated in the recent decision of the Alberta Securities Commission. Mr. Stewart has consistently failed to meet the responsibilities that accompany the privileges of registrant status. Mrs. Stewart is evidently unwillingly or incapable of fulfilling those responsibilities, now or in the future.”