Tom Atkinson, director of enforcement at the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC), intends to advocate for the use of no-contest settlement agreements at an upcoming policy hearing.

The OSC says that Atkinson will appear at its public policy hearing on June 17, and will be providing submissions in support of four enforcement initiatives that were proposed back in October 2011, including the use of “neither admit nor deny settlements”.

The commission initially proposed the idea in the hope that allowing no-contest settlements could speed up certain cases.

Comments submitted on the proposal indicated that defence counsel generally favoured the use of these sorts of deals; whereas plaintiffs’ counsel and investor advocates opposed the idea, fearing that it would make it harder to pursue civil suits.

On Wednesday, the OSC provided an update the proposed enforcement initiatives in advance of the policy hearing.

The OSC said that staff “remain committed to these initiatives as a way to increase enforcement’s effectiveness… These initiatives will allow us to resolve enforcement matters more quickly and issue more protective orders earlier, which would benefit both investors and the capital markets.”

However, it also clarified that its proposed use of no-contest settlements would be limited to certain sorts of cases. In particular, it said these sorts of deals would not be used in cases of “egregious, fraudulent or criminal conduct, or where the person’s misconduct has resulted in investor harm which remains unaddressed.”

These sorts of deals would also not be available to people that have previously been sanctioned for securities law violations. And, it set out the factors that staff will use in evaluating eligibility, including the extent of their cooperation with the OSC, the degree and timeliness of self reporting, the steps taken to remedy the conduct, and whether they disgorged ill-gotten gains.

Additionally, the OSC indicates that it has been actively monitoring developments in the U.S. regarding the use of these sorts of deals; and it released a research paper authored by noted securities lawyer, Phil Anisman, that reviews and analyzes recent U.S. developments, in order to further inform public debate on the issue.