Advocis, the Financial Advisors Association of Canada, is urging Ontario Finance Minister Dwight Duncan to address the regulatory burden of financial advisors and planners in the province in this year’s provincial budget.

In a pre-budget submission, the association provided Duncan with several recommendations.

“We are not asking for a handout or a subsidy,” said Advocis president and CEO, Greg Pollock. “Our members simply want to do business in a regulatory environment that not only protects the public, but also ensures that advisors and planners are not hampered by unnecessary and inefficient regulation.”

Advocis’ five main recommendations focus on the need for the Ministry of Finance to provide increased oversight on the province’s regulators. Specifically, the association calls for more oversight on the amount and type of regulation to which financial advisors and planners are exposed and the need to protect consumers with regulation that will not impede their ability to choose qualified, effective financial advice.

Before any regulatory changes are implemented, Advocis urges the ministry to consult with all stakeholders likely to be impacted at an early stage in the policy development process.

Financial services regulators should ensure that initiatives avoid placing an unfair burden of regulation on one segment of the industry, and maintain a level playing field at all times, according to Advocis. The association also recommends that any new regulations be considered against the impact on consumer choice.

“In addition to smart regulation – not one-size-fits-all regulation, we need to see more and better proof of the need for additional regulation,” said Pollock. “Our members see the regulation but seldom see any indication of an understanding of the size of the problem the regulation is intended to address. A cost-benefit analysis from the regulator about the benefits of protecting the consumer against the increased burden of compliance costs to the financial advisor or planner would go a long way.”