A British Columbia Securities Commission panel agreed to hear a fund dealer’s challenge to a by-law change by the Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada because it raises “public interest concerns”.

The BCSC Wednesday released the reasons of the panel that agreed to hear an application from Partners in Planning Financial Services Ltd. challenging an amendment to a governance by-law by the MFDA.

In those reasons, the panel says that “it is not necessary to consider whether Partners is entitled to a hearing… because the application raises sufficient public interest concerns that the commission ought to hear it.”

The panel notes that it hasn’t formed an opinion on any of the firm’s allegations. “However, the answers to these issues may well bear on the integrity of the MFDA’s governance practices, and could ultimately affect the credibility of the MFDA as an institution,” it says.

“The system of securities regulation we have in Canada depends on the roles played by regulatory organizations like the MFDA. It is essential that those organizations operate, and are seen to operate, in a manner that leaves no room to question the integrity of their governance, procedures and practices. It is equally essential that any allegations that could raise those questions be dealt with thoroughly and openly,” the decision adds.

The commission says it is working with the parties on procedures to prepare for the hearing, and when hearing dates are set, they will be published on the BCSC website.

IE